


Criminal Love

by Rare289



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Also NatsukixSyo, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Betrayal, Drugs, Explicit Language, Gangs, Gun Violence, Kidnapping, M/M, Mainly RenxMasato, Male Homosexuality, Masato is a tight ass, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Ren is a playboy, Seduction, Sex, Smut, There is already ReijixRanmaru and RingoxHyuga, Torture, Violence, Will have OtoyaXTokiya, and has a tight ass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 02:19:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 36,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13226097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rare289/pseuds/Rare289
Summary: Masato is the boss of the Hijirikawa Detective agency, which prides itself on its nearly 100% rate of catching and locking up criminals. Along with his best detectives, Otoya, Syo and Natsuki, they take on the case of taking down the two main gangs terrorizing the city, the Shining Rebels and the Quartet Warriors. However, he unknowingly has an encounter with the leader of the Shining Rebels, Ren Jinguji, and his life as a bringer of justice becomes much more complicated than he ever thought possible.Ren Jinguji enjoys his gangster life: protecting his brothers, building the gang to supreme status, and even his “semi-friendly” rivalry with the Quartet Warriors. For fun, he decides to tackle the thorn in his side called Masato Hijirikawa. What starts off as just a fling, begins to light a fire within the black heart that Ren believed he had. Besides this, a new gang is trying to disrupt the harmony his gang and the Quartet Warriors created. Now he must choose whether to listen to his heart or snuff out the flame of love in his heart before it destroys him.





	1. Justice's Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boss of the Hijirikawa Detective Agency, Masato, is upset with their most recent loss against the one of the top gangs in the city of Tokyo. While his other lead detectives, Natsuki and Syo, are upset, Masato knows they must move past this if they hope to one day uncover the identity's of both the Shining Rebels and Quartet Warriors gangs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. This is my first ever fanfiction and I'm super happy that I get to finally write this story. It has been in my head for awhile and I hope you enjoy it. Since this is my first time writing a fanfic, I would appreciate any suggestions in how to improve my writing. As well, while I did tag this work as a "M/M", this is the last warning to turn back if you are not into homosexual relationships between men. This first chapter deals with Masato and introduces the members of the Hijirikawa Detective Agency. Nothing too extreme in this chapter, just some slight swearing.

Friday: August 11, 2017 12:00pm  
  
Masato sighed as he stared at the front of today’s newspaper. The top headline read “Hijirikawa Agency Unable to Link Murder of Family to the Shining Rebels Members, Are the Gangs Too Much to Handle?”. Under it was a picture of 3 young males, Chinese, White, and Japanese respectively, smiling as they walked down the court steps in their jeans and button-up shirts. Along with the unmistakable orange bandanas tied around their left arms with the initials ‘SR’ stitched into it.  
  
‘If only we had got the case sooner…’ thought Masato. This case was a part of a much larger, 4-year operation to get rid of the two biggest gangs in Tokyo, the Shining Rebels and Quartet Warriors. They had inherited the case from the government only 6 months ago, along with the smaller cases that dealt with the gangs. However, little information was given about either gang. Both gangs did not control half of the city each for being stupid. Any major case that involved their members tended to either get a mistrial or win by lack of evidence. The only information they could get was the names of the leaders of the Shining Rebels and Quartet Warriors; Jinguji and Kurosaki respectively. And they had only learned these names about 3 months ago while interrogating an informant that worked for the gangs. Besides that, the informant refused to give any other kind of information and was back on the street a few days later.  
  
Feeling the pulse of a headache echo in his brain, Masato opened the left-side drawer of his desk and grabbed a bottle of Ibuprofen. He quickly opened the bottle and poured out two pills before downing them. While waiting for the medicine to kick in, he rubbed his forehead to try and relieve the pain.  
  
Moving some of his blue hair out of his face, he looked around his office, admiring the craftsmanship of his black, wooden desk and cabinets that were in his office. He gazed at the two adult bonsai trees that sat near the only window of his office that had the blinds open. The afternoon sunlight filtered in through the 3rd story window, stopping just before reaching his desk. His gaze then fell on the baby bonsai and the small Piyo-chan plush that he had on his desk; he had been given them as gifts during last year’s Christmas party. It reminded him of his happier times with his friends and coworkers, bringing a smile to his face. Just when he felt that he found some semblance of tranquility, his office door was slammed open by one of his aforementioned friends and lead detectives, Syo Kurusu, followed by his other friend and lead detective, Natsuki Taniyama. Judging by Syo’s frustrated look and the newspaper in his hand, Masato had a feeling that Syo read today’s top story.  
  
“Oi, Masato! You see this crap that the news outlets are saying about us! What do they expect from us when the only information we can go on is half the names of the gang leaders! Lousy, good-for-nothing assholes!” Syo exclaimed before throwing the newspaper violently into the trash bin and sitting on one of Masato’s leather, office chairs. Natsuki went behind Syo and massaged his shoulders to try and calm the smaller detective down.  
  
“I know, Syo. And you should also know that once we were given this case, all the blame for not getting these guys incarcerated was going to land on us as well. It’s unfortunate, but the Shining Rebels are just as smart and clever as the Quartet Warriors. Finding evidence was never going to be easy, especially with how much control both gangs hold on the city” said Masato.  
  
“I know, but it is so infuriating! One day, we are getting praised for having a nearly 100 percent rate in locking away criminals. And then the next day, we are being called “amateurs” and “has-beens”. If it was so easy to lock away an entire gang then the regular patrol officers could have put them away 2 years ago” Syo said. He batted away Natsuki’s hands and just rested his head in his own.  
  
“We will redouble our efforts and wait for the Shining Rebels to slip up and then we will lock them away and throw away the key. Same goes for the Quartet Warriors. So I need you to stop letting these news hounds get under your skin. We have more information now than when we started, so we need to focus on that and keep digging up more information. Understood?”  
  
Syo took a deep breath before replying with, “Yes, boss”.  
  
“Good. Now, Natsuki, why are you in my office and not working?” asked Masato.  
  
Natsuki finally took his eyes off of Syo and looked at Masato with confusion, obviously forgetting why he was there. When he finally remembered, he said, “Umm…well I came to inform you about the new detective, Otoya Ittoki, who was hired and is coming in today to begin working. I was on my way here to tell you when I ran into Syo-chan.” He pushed his glasses back up and gave Masato a big smile.  
  
Masato knew that Natsuki had feelings for Syo, but was unsure whether the smaller detective knew or not. While this unrequited love was sometimes annoying, it never truly affected their work so Masato never brought it up. However, it was moments like this that made Masato wish Cupid would just hurry up and get them together already. “Okay. So then when is he supposed to get here?”  
  
Just as Natsuki was going to reply, there was a knock at the open door. They all turned to see a red-headed young male standing on the other side of the threshold, with a look showing he was unsure whether he should have interrupted the conversation or not.  
  
“I believe that is Ittoki-san right now” said Natsuki nervously.  
  
Masato sighed. “Alright. Ittoki-san please come in and have a seat. Syo. Natsuki. Make sure his desk is ready and get back to work”  
  
Natsuki and Syo saluted their boss before heading back to their desks. Otoya walked in and closed the door behind him, before sitting in the chair that Syo had been in. Masato could see that Otoya was quite nervous, as he was fidgeting with his hands and did not make eye contact with Masato.  
  
“Ittoki-san, please don’t be so nervous. Just tell me about yourself. As you may have heard, I have not been able to read your file, but I’m sure if the higher ups gave you a promotion you should be fine. Although, I will say that your timing is not so good, considering the case we are currently working on.”  
  
Otoya showed a small smile. “Umm…thank you, Masato-san. Please just call me Otoya. I guess that I never expected to be able to work with you. Especially with how much you and your detective agency have accomplished since you opened 3 years ago”. He took a deep breath and looked Masato straight in the eye. “I understand that the case on the Shining Rebels and Quartet Warriors is definitely a tough one, but I want to do all I can to help, even if I’m not very experienced. I promise you that I am a hard worker and I’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. As long as it is legal, of course.”  
  
While Masato knew he was not going to be putting Otoya at the center of this case, he had to admit that he was genuinely surprised by Otoya’s determination. It not only showed in his words, but even in his red eyes, full of youth and energy. He remembered having that look at one point. Maybe it was that kind of determination that will help to catch these gangs.  
  
“Otoya, I am already impressed by your determination. But, I can’t have you jumping on this case without any experience. For now, you will work on some of the smaller cases alongside one of my top detectives, Syo Kurusu. Maybe once you have shown me what you can do, I’ll put you on this case as well. Understood?”  
  
Otoya gave Masato a huge smile before standing up and saluting him. “Yes sir!”  
  
With a smile like that, Masato knew he would be hearing the ladies in his office gossip about him very soon.  
  
“Well, seeing how enthusiastic you are, let’s get you started right away. Follow me and let’s see if those two have finished getting your station ready.”  
  
Masato stood up from his desk and headed to his door, Otoya following close behind. He opened the door and walked into the main room, where there were 15 other tan-colored, mahogany desks that were stacked up high with paperwork and folders filled with evidence photos and criminal files. Masato could barely see his own detectives within the mess, but he could not blame them. He and his detectives truly knew what it meant to be buried by your work. He headed for the desks within the center of the room, where Syo was cleaning off one desk, while the other across from it had clutters of paperwork and was decorated with superheroes figures and family photos.  
  
“Syo. Is his station ready?”  
  
“All ready, Boss. Just got to give him the standard stuff.” Syo then proceeded to place a HP laptop, a large notepad and some pencils, along with an official badge and gun on the desk. “There! All the stuff you need to start.”  
  
“Thank you, Syo. I will also be putting you in charge of training Itto…Otoya until we have been able to fully see the extent of his capabilities. Can I trust you to show him the ropes?”  
  
“Of course, Boss! I’ll make sure he knows how things work around here! Nice to meet ya, kid.” Syo extended his hand, which Otoya shook in gratitude.  
  
Just as Syo began to talk more to Otoya, Natsuki burst into the main room with a small plate in his hands.  
  
Natsuki shouted, “Ittoki-san! I made some cookies to welcome you to the agency!” Natsuki then ran over to the group, showing off his cookies, which were shaped into puppies, kittens, and Piyo-chans. However, they gave off a distinct odor that made Masato not trust the “cookies”, which summed up most of Natsuki’s homemade creations. Masato saw Syo lean towards Otoya and whispered, “If you know what is good for you, do not eat those cookies”. However, Natsuki also saw this and just smiled.  
  
“Awwww, Syo-chan. If you wanted some cookies too, you just had to ask.” Natsuki then grabbed a cookie before shoving it into Syo’s mouth. Before Syo could even realize what had happened, he had already swallowed it. His entire face turned green before he ran out of the main room, probably heading straight for the bathrooms.  
  
Natsuki cheerfully exclaimed, “Wow! He must have liked it so much that he wanted to tell everyone about it. What about you, Ittoki-san and Masato?”  
  
Masato shook his head while Otoya nervously smiled and said, “Well, I actually packed my own snacks, but I am grateful for the cookies. I’ll just take them in a bag and eat them at home.”  
  
Natsuki quickly nodded and took out a Ziploc bag to put the cookies in. Masato smiled, but it quickly turned to a frown as his headache had reappeared, pounding against his skull. Natsuki saw this and quickly put down his cookies to check on his boss.  
  
“What’s wrong, Masato? Do you need medicine?”  
  
“No. I took some Ibuprofen just a little while ago. It would be too soon to take anything else. I think the stress from all our cases has finally got to me.” Masato sat down in Syo’s black rolling chair and laid his head back against the seat.  
  
Natsuki put his hand to his face in contemplation before digging into his pockets for a card. “I don’t know if you would be interested, but this place may help to take your mind off things, if only for a little while.”  
  
Natsuki handed the card to Masato, who proceeded to look over the card. His face then turned into confusion before he asked, “Natsuki, what kind of place is called "Singles Mingle"?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the small taste of what I have in store for this story. The next chapter will introduce Ren and give more details on both the Shining Rebels and the Quartet Warriors. I'm almost done with it so I hope to update very soon. I will have to start school again soon, so when that happens I will let you know what kind of update schedule I will have. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please look forward to my next update.


	2. Rules of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduces both Ren and Reiji as the leaders of the Shining Rebels gang and the Quartet Warriors gang, respectively. They meet and discuss dealing with loose ends and what plans they have for the future, as well as what they should do to get rid of a certain blue-haired thorn in their sides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is definitely more intense since this is dealing with gangs. It is also quite a bit longer than the previous chapter, but I had to include quite a bit. Warnings for cursing, torture, relationship between Reiji and Ranmaru, Ren being bisexual, intimidation. Although it should be expected when dealing with gangs.

Saturday: August 12, 2017 : 10:04am  
  
A black, 2017 Hyundai Elantra pulled up to the BitterSweet nightclub, located in the Shinjuku area. At this hour, this part of the red light district was as quiet as a school building on Christmas. Parking behind a black, Cadillac Escalade SUV, the driver stepped out to reveal a man with slicked-back, dark-blue hair and wearing a black formal suit and sunglasses. He moves to the other side of the car and opens the back passenger door.  
  
“Boss, we should hurry. You are a bit behind.”  
  
“Ichi. I know you are my bodyguard, but you don’t have to be such a stickler for the rules. Have you never heard of being fashionably late?”  
  
The bodyguard just sighed before saying, “I believe I have asked you to refrain from that nickname.”  
  
“And I believe I told you to call me Ren when we are alone.”  
  
“Yes, my apologies Ren-san.”  
  
Ren sighs, “I guess that’s the best I can ask from you, Tokiya.”  
  
Ren stepped out of the open car door, with his long, orange hair tied back into a ponytail and wearing a dark blue, Armani suit. He walked towards the nightclub doors as he listened to Tokiya closing the car door and locking the car before catching up with him. Once at the door, Tokiya opened it and Ren walked into the nightclub, seeing plush red chairs stacked up on the tables, a sign showing the floor had been recently mopped, red velvet curtains leading to the back of the club, and the only sign of life being the young, 5-foot male cleaning the wine bar. Ren approached the bar, making eye contact with the bartender who quickly went pale and bowed, almost dropping a wine glass in his hand. Ren chuckled upon seeing the reaction.  
  
In a deep, baritone voice, Ren said, “Shin, there is no need to be scared. Now have all my guests been accounted for?”  
  
Shin took deep breaths to try and calm down. “Y…Yes Jinguji-sama! Along with the best 1982 red wine that we have. As per your r…re…request.”  
  
“Wonderful. Can you also bring a TV with an HDMI input as well? I know it’s last minute, but I’m sure you have something available, right?” Ren smirked as Shin began to sweat more than he had before.  
  
“Please just…just give me a few minutes and I will…I’ll bring it straight to your room, sir!”  
  
“Good. The usual room, correct?”  
  
“Yes. Please let me know if there is anything else I can d…do so your s…st…stay is perfect” Shin says, his stutters becoming more profound as his nervousness leaked out. It was this kind of reaction that brought Ren an ecstasy that was only rivaled by sex.  
  
“Thank you, I will call you if I need you” said Ren, finally deciding to relent on the poor man.  
  
Ren walked through the red curtains to the VIP rooms located in the back of the bar. He could hear his shoes click against the tile floor as he and Tokiya walked down the hallway. Ren finally stopped in front of a door with the numbers 214 in front of it. Tokiya pushed the door in and went in first to hold it open for Ren.  
  
Ren walked in and took in the scene before him. In the center of the room was a small black, square table with wine glasses and 2 open bottles of wine. There was also a wine cart against the wall, which contained about 5 bottles of unopened wine. Around the table there were 2 black and 2 white large leather chairs with gold embellishments along the bottom and sides of the chair.  
  
In one of the black chairs sat a man with brown hair, who was wearing a black suit, dark green tie and a black and green fedora. He was making out with a silver-haired man, who was wearing a black suit with a maroon tie, black gloves and a small, 9mm handgun in his left hand. The silver-haired man looked up and saw Ren, growling in agitation, and made a move to get off the brown-haired man. However, the brown-haired man grabbed him by the tie and brought him back down to continue, choosing to ignore Ren’s presence. Ren shrugged and moved to sit in the black chair across from the couple, watching as they looked like they could eat each other whole. Tokiya also moved to stand behind his boss’s chair, clasping his hands behind his back. The silver-haired man finally pushed against the brown-haired man’s chest and moved off him, holstering his gun and standing behind the brown-hair man’s chair.  
  
“Oh, don’t stop on my account. You know I don’t judge, Reiji.”  
  
The brown-haired man let out a laugh before replying. “Ah, Renyan! You know that, and I know that. But Ran-Ran is so shy, you know.”  
  
The silver-haired man crossed his arms and huffed, glaring daggers at Ren. “We wouldn’t have needed to stop anything if you hadn’t called this stupid meeting. Not to mention being late, asshole.”  
  
The silver-haired man’s rudeness only made Ren chuckle. “It is nice to see you as well, Ranmaru.”  
  
Ranmaru responded by flipping Ren off. Tokiya was getting agitated at the rudeness towards his boss, but Ren noticed this and motioned for him to calm down. Reiji cleared his throat to gain everybody’s attention.  
  
Reiji, in a calm, serious tone, said, “Now, now. Toki. Ran-Ran. This meeting is just to make sure we all know what’s going on. We all came here peacefully and we will all leave here the same way, okay?”  
  
This seemed to calm both of the bodyguards and the room became silent. There was a knock at the door and Ranmaru walked over and opened it. Shin walked in with a HDTV and a long HDMI cable attached to the TV. He plugged in the TV to an outlet and gave Ren the remote. He then bowed to both Ren and Reiji.  
  
“Ren-sama, here is the TV you requested. Pl..Please let me know if there is anything else you need” said Shin, unable to hold back a stutter.  
  
“Thank you, Shin. You may go” said Ren, waving him away with his left hand.  
  
Shin quickly walked out of the room, closing the door just as fast.  
  
There is a moment of silence before Ren said, “Now, shall we get to business, Reiji?”  
  
“Of course, Renyan. Why don’t you start?”  
  
“Alright then. Please tell me what happened to that informant that squealed out both my and Ranmaru’s last name. I know I left that to you since you worked with him the most, so I just wanted to make sure the job was done. As well, I would still like to know why that weasel would reveal my name, but not yours.”  
  
Reiji gave Ren a small smile and replied with, “Ah, that’s because he never actually met with me. He often met with Ranmaru when exchanging the goods. Even if I did do quite a bit of business with him, he was still small fry so Ranmaru usually handled any of his shipments. He must have believed that Ranmaru was truly the boss of the Quartet Warriors. Oh, but I made sure he knew who I was, right before pushing him off my boat so he could sink to the bottom of the ocean with cement blocks on his ankles.”  
  
Ren let out a loud whistle, as he was impressed, but not surprised by Reiji’s method of “taking care” of a traitor. While the informant had not told the detectives Reiji’s name, he told them the last name of his lover and this put him at risk. Reiji had no tolerance for those that did anything to bring harm to his family, and especially towards Ranmaru. Reiji wasn’t the leader of the Quartet Warriors for being a softie. Ren knew that behind that smiling, laid back mask Reiji tended to show, was the face of a beast just waiting for someone to try and fuck with him.  
  
“Well I see that we won’t have to worry about him anymore. At least he did not reveal what either me or Ranmaru looked like. There would be serious trouble if that happened.”  
  
“Yes. He is lucky that is all he said. It’s the only reason I did not allow my men to torture him before I sent him to his watery death. However, on the subject of taking care of loose ends, what is being done about those boys of yours that got out of that family murder charge? I would think you wouldn’t let them off so easy for disregarding your rules.”  
The conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Tokiya’s phone. He answered it and after a few moments he leaned down to Ren’s ear and said, “He’s ready. Should I bring up the video feed?”  
  
Ren smiled evilly before nodding. Tokiya gave the phone to Ren before taking out a small laptop from his suit jacket. He inserted the other end of the HDMI cable to the computer. After a few clicks on the keyboard, Tokiya finished his preparations and nodded to Ren. Ren turned the TV on to reveal a Chinese man, White man and Japanese man, gagged and stripped down to their boxers. They had been tortured and could be heard sobbing as they were forced to sit on their knees. Ren put the phone on speaker before he spoke into it.  
  
“Satsuki. Can everyone hear me?”  
  
A gruff voice replied, “Yes, you are all good, boss.”  
  
“Perfect.” He fully focused on the 3 tortured males. “Now, hello gentlemen. How have you been today?” Ren said cheerfully.  
  
This only caused the 3 men to cry harder. They tried to bow their heads, but a quick shout from Satsuki made them sit back up.  
  
Ren smiled and said, “Ah, I see that Satsuki has knocked some sense back into all of you. Now boys, you all know that when you joined the Shining Rebels, you became a part of our family. However, I think you forgot the rules that came with being in this family, so I’m going to remind you of them. So you better listen.”  
  
He stopped momentarily to hear their muffled cries for forgiveness. He looked at Reiji and Ranmaru, who had their full attentions on the screen. He turned back to the screen and brought his mouth close to the speaker.  
  
“The 1st rule: Never betray or disrespect your family, whether by your words or actions.  
The 2nd rule: Never steal money or hide secrets from your family, as neither will be tolerated.  
The 3rd rule: Take care of business, but never harm a child or work within 40 yards of a school.  
The 4th rule: While your family will protect you, you need to own up and fix your own mistakes.  
And the 5th and final rule: Do not waste your family’s time and resources.”  
  
Ren paused, savoring in the men’s terror as their entire bodies were shaking in fear. Keeping a calm demeanor, he continued. “Now, let’s go over what you guys did. First, you killed an entire family, including a 14-year old teenage girl, 9-year old boy and 4-month old girl. Even though I’ve made it clear about how I do not want children to be harmed or involved in our business. So, you broke my 3rd rule. Next, a question that I’m sure everyone is asking: Why did you kill that family? Oh that’s right, because they had been unable to pay their protection fee for the past 2 months. However, I believe I remember telling you morons that their monthly protection fee was to go from $300 to $100 for 1 year because of their newborn child.”  
  
At this statement, the Chinese man started yelling into his gag, most likely saying Ren had never told them that. The only response he got was a bullet in his left thigh. He began to scream and writhe on the ground until a tall, blonde man walked up to him and punched him in the face a few times. The Chinese man finally settled down and was put back on his knees.  
  
“Sorry, boss. Please continue” said Satsuki.  
  
“Thank you, Satsuki. So as I was saying, you were just supposed to reduce their fee, but I later find out you actually increased the fees of all the houses under your supervision by $200. I decided to keep quiet about it, since I thought you were just wanting to bring more money to the family and that you would inform me or my lieutenants about your plan. And yet that extra money never made it to the family vault and you boys even tried to hide your scheme from us, a gang family that specializes in collecting money and information. So, not only was that stupid, but it also broke my 2nd rule.”  
  
At this point, Ren could see wet spots appearing in the men’s boxers. He loved how they were pissing themselves already and yet he had not finished listing off their crimes against him.  
  
“Next, you did such a crap job of cleaning up your crime that you had to rely on your family to fix your mistakes. Do you know how much that cost? 15 grand! 15 grand, gone. All of it going to bribing and evidence removal so that your case could go to mistrial. So my 4th and 5th rules went down the drain.”  
  
Ren saw some liquid coming out of the Japanese man’s mouth, and watched as it dribbled down his chin and soaked into his gag. From the look and color of it, he was probably throwing up bile and blood. Ren knew he just needed to go a bit further to break them.  
  
“And are you guys ready to hear your last screw up? You boys became so cocky, thinking that you had not only fooled the System, but me and your family as well. You got so cocky, in fact, that you decided to casually walk into one of our smaller bases minutes after your trial. That,” Ren dropped his calm tone and composure, “was probably the dumbest thing you fuckers could have done! The police surrounded that place so fast that it’s a miracle that all your gang brothers and sisters managed to escape! So your actions not only put this family at risk, but lost us a very lucrative location and about 20 grand, in cash, that was abandoned at the base! Not to mention, the amount of disrespect you have shown me for even thinking you could start this get-rich-quick plan of yours is just…infuriating! So, obviously the 1st rule was thrown out quite a long time ago.”  
  
Ren stopped, and the only thing that could be heard was the whimpering from the men on the other side of the camera. Ren took a few deep breaths and straighten out his tie, regaining his composure, but making sure his voice still held a dangerous undertone.  
  
“Now, don’t get me wrong. I am impressed! It has been a long, long time since anybody broke all of my rules. While I’m sure you have other things on your mind right now, I just wanted to tell you not to worry about the extra money you took. I sent my men to ransack your homes and take whatever was valuable. That should make up for most of the money you assholes cost me. And don’t worry about apologizing, because once we’re done here, there will be no need for you to apologize and the rest of your debt will have been paid. Satsuki! Remove their gags.”  
  
The tall, blonde man returned on to the screen, and could be seen harshly removing the gags from the traitors’ mouths, allowing the dirty rags to fall to the ground in front of them. Ren waited for Satsuki to get out of the camera’s shot before resuming his talk.  
  
“Now, is there anything you would like to say to me?”  
  
None of the men raised their head, keeping silent. Ren just smirked.  
  
“At least you still have some kind of dignity left.” Ren paused before saying, “Do it.”  
  
The next moment the screen showed the 3 men being pummeled with bullets, the sounds of gunfire and screams filling the room. Nobody dared to take their eyes off the screen. After a minute, the sounds finally ceased and the only things left on the screen was 3 unrecognizable, bullet-riddled human bodies and blood sprayed all over the floor, walls, and even a little on the camera lens.  
  
Ren looked at the screen and thought, ‘Well that’s trash for you. They all look the same when they die.’  
  
Ren cleared his throat and said, “I’m satisfied. Satsuki, clean up the mess however you see fit and then you can go home.”  
  
Satsuki curtly replied, “Thank you, boss. Have a good day.”  
  
Ren ended the call and turned the TV off. Tokiya shut down the computer and put it back in his jacket. He then went to the wine cart and poured red wine into a glass before going back to his boss and trading it for the phone. Ren then took a large gulp of wine before looking at Reiji and Ranmaru.  
  
“I believe that answers your question.”  
  
Reiji stared at him for a moment, only to start laughing hysterically. When he finally calmed down, Reiji said, “Ah, Renyan! I see you haven’t changed. You still love to show off! But I have to admit, I did enjoy the entertainment.”  
  
“I’m glad you were pleased by it. I will say though, I do have other things to do. So let’s cover the last thing - or should I say person - on the agenda so both of us can get on with our day.”  
  
Ren proceeds to dig a few photos out of his breast pocket. He throws them on the table to show the photos all have a certain blue-haired male that had been getting in the way of business for both the Shining Rebels and Quartet Warriors. Reiji and Ranmaru’s eyes turned cold upon seeing the individual on the pictures.  
  
Reiji clenched his teeth and curled his fingers into the arms of the chair. In a menacing tone, he said, “Masato Hijirikawa of the HA”.  
  
Ren nodded. Hearing Reiji say HA reminded Ren that only gang members called the detective agency by that acronym. When the agency first popped up 3 years ago, many of them believed that the agency was a joke and would fade out of existence soon enough. However, the last 2 years showed how wrong they were. Masato and the detectives under him were gaining many awards for catching criminals and even locking up several of the members of the Rebels and Warriors. This pissed off both leaders as less of their boys on the street meant less business and profit for the gangs.  
  
Ranmaru put his hand on Reiji’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. It worked, as Reiji took a few breaths before he spoke again. “Do you have a plan to get rid of him? His agency is located in your jurisdiction.”  
  
Ren smirked. “In a way, yes. But how about we make this a competition of sorts? We haven’t had a wager in a long time.” He finished off his glass and handed it back to Tokiya to get it refilled.  
  
Reiji looked at him curiously. “All right. But what exactly are we betting on?”  
  
Ren rested his head in one hand while Tokiya handed him his refilled glass in the other hand. “Let’s say… we tell each other what our next major plans are and whoever accomplishes their task first wins. Of course, there must be either photo or video proof that it was in fact us or someone in our family that did it. And neither of us can interfere with the other’s plan, directly or indirectly.”  
  
Reiji smirked at the idea. “My, oh my. I bet old man Saotome is having a good, old laugh in hell right now. But I won’t deny that the deal sounds enticing.” Reiji thought for a minute before shrugging his shoulders, “Fine. I haven’t had some old fashioned fun in a long time. I might as well share my plan first. It involves kidnapping and ransoming that prince that is supposed to be coming to the city in a month.”  
  
Ren smirked, “That sounds like the perfect job for your Camus, the Modern Winter Soldier. Although it won’t be easy.”  
  
“It wouldn’t be any fun if it was easy, now would it?” said Reiji. “Now, tell me what you have planned.”  
  
Ren started swirling the wine in his glass absentmindedly. “Nothing as big as what you are going for. I’m just going to make Masato Hijirikawa my bitch.”  
  
With that statement, Reiji and Ranmaru’s eyes widen. Before Reiji could talk, Ranmaru shouted, “How the fuck are you going to pull that off?! There is no way a tight ass like him is going to go for a playboy like you!”  
  
Ren just smiled and waved his finger. “That is for me to know and for you to find out.”  
  
In truth, Ren had no idea how to accomplish this. He only came up with this idea because he needed a way to crush Hijirikawa, even if not physically. He could not straight up kill Hijirikawa as he had too many supporters on his side; killing him would put his gang on top of the most wanted list. So the next best way of getting rid of Hijirikawa was to break his spirit. And what better way than to seduce him and throw him away like trash.  
  
Reiji nodded his head and said, “I will be excited to see how you accomplish this, Renyan. Let’s make the deadline October 13th. It’s the last day before that prince is to be back in his country. The usual prizes?”  
  
Ren nodded and drank the rest of his wine in one gulp before replying. “Sure. I’ll bring the cash and any information you want if you win. And I want the best guns and ammunition you have if I win. Along with some of that new drug, Pulse. Some of my newer members wanted to get their hands on the stuff. If we both accomplish our tasks, the one who makes the most buzz around town will win. Do we have a wager?” said Ren as he extended his hand out towards Reiji.  
  
Reiji nodded before shaking Ren’s hand. “Indeed we do. And may the best gangster win.”  
  
“By the end of this contest, that title will belong to me, Reiji.”  
  
“You can always try Renyan. I always like to see you struggle.”  
  
Ren chuckled and motioned for Tokiya to gather the pictures, which he did swiftly. “Well, with that said and done, I believe this meeting is over. Let’s be on our way.”  
  
Reiji and Ren stood up, leaving their glasses on the table. They moved to the door after grabbing a bottle or two of wine from the cart. Tokiya opened the door and Reiji and Ranmaru walked out first, with Tokiya following after Ren exited behind the couple. Both pairs walked through the red curtains to see Shin placing the chairs back on the ground and around the tables. Upon hearing them enter, Shin stopped what he was doing and bowed, not daring to look either leader in the eye. Ren and Reiji both snickered and Ren walked up to Shin.  
  
“Thank you for the excellent service, Shin. As promised, I’ll make sure my boys know that you are not to pay protection fees for this month. And here’s a small tip.” Ren proceeded to open his wallet and take out a few 100 yen. He placed it in Shin’s shirt pocket and patted the man’s head. “Have a good rest of your day.”  
  
Ren walked past Shin, with Tokiya, Reiji and Ranmaru right behind him, and exited out of the nightclub. Ren noticed the sun’s position and reasoned that it must be past noon.  
  
‘Time flies when drinking wine and getting rid of traitors’ thought Ren.  
  
He watched as both Tokiya and Ranmaru moved to the Hyundai and Cadillac respectively to open the door for their respective bosses. Both he and Reiji gave small nods to each other as they headed to their vehicles. Just as Ren was going to step into his car, he hears Reiji shout something to him.  
  
“By the way, what kind of event could be so important that the Shining Rebels leader can’t get his mind off it?”  
  
Ren chuckled and replied back, “Simple my street brother. Getting laid!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! I had quite a bit of fun writing this, but that's also just cause I got to imagine what an evil Reiji and Ren would be like. Please don't hesitate to tell me what you guys think about the story or even just my writing style. The next chapter will also be up within the next few days. I'm probably going to have about 5 chapters on this story in 2 weeks, and then I have to go back to school. This will mean that chapters will either come out every 2 weeks or once a month. Still deciding on that.


	3. Fateful Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Masato decides to follow Natsuki's advice and goes to "Singles Mingle" to relax and maybe meet some new people. However, he is unaware of the danger that lurks close by. And it has its sight's set on being more than just friends with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much less intense than the last one, but I think you guys will still enjoy it. I was actually able to write it to where you can see both Ren and Masato's perspectives so that was fun. For anyone that is looking for the intense stuff, the next chapter will be a bit more intense(not spoiling on what it is though), so definitely read this chapter to know what happens in the next. I also promise that the next chapter will be up on Sunday. With that said, please enjoy!

Saturday: August 12, 2017 1:45pm

‘I can’t believe I’m actually doing this’ Masato thought as he stared at the building before him.

Masato stood in front of a shop located in the Toshima district. The banner across the sophisticated-looking shop read “Singles Mingle” and Masato could already see a variety of people inside through the clear glass windows. There were middle-aged men wearing business attire, young women wearing silk floor dresses and too much makeup, men that looked like they walked out of either sports or porn magazines and older women that wore jewelry he couldn’t buy even if he saved all his paychecks for a year.

Masato was about 5 feet from the door, in his best black blazer, white button-up shirt and pants that a detective’s salary could buy. The urge to forget about this idea and just go home to drink green tea and enjoy his day off was strong, but he was already here and there was no point wasting the hours he spent researching this place before coming. And going back to the office was not an option; Syo was pretty clear that if he saw his face anywhere near the agency, he was going to kick his butt so hard that he would be in the next month.

From what he read, this place was a restaurant turned into a social gathering place for individuals of middle and high class. Even more, it advertised being the perfect place to meet new people and make connections. However, looking into personal reviews of the shop revealed it was more of a place for rich and lonely people to find either life partners or one-night stands. Not to mention, quite a few gay men and lesbians praised this shop for helping them find their soulmates. Masato doubted he would hook up with anybody at this establishment, but it might be good to meet some new people and get more supporters for his agency. And who knows. Maybe he could find a nice girl who would not mind a work-alcoholic like himself.

Masato took a deep breath and pushed open the doors, hearing a small bell ring as he walked in. The receptionist, an older Japanese women who wore a pink-colored kimono with orange flowers and leaves printed on it, and a gold obi, saw him and motioned for him to come over, holding what looked like a sign-up sheet. Masato walked towards her, allowing the door to close behind him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ren stared at the front door of the “Singles Mingle” shop, not believing his eyes. He was already having a good day: a successful meeting with the Quartet Warriors leader and even convincing Tokiya to leave him alone for an hour so he could find a partner for the night. And now here was Masato Hijirikawa. The blue-haired thorn in his side. The tight-ass boss of the HA. The man who he had declared would be his bitch by mid-October. And he had just walked into one of his favorite shops for finding a man or woman to satisfy his sexual needs. Ren looked towards the sky and blew a kiss, knowing the goddess of good fortune was surely smiling on him.

He waited to make sure Masato had finished filling out any paperwork before he walked in. He saw sweet old lady Tachibana in her usual spot at the reception desk. Upon hearing the bell ring, Tachibana looked up and smiled when she saw Ren.

“Oh, if it isn’t Suwabe-san! How have you been sweetheart?” said Tachibana.

Ren smiled upon hearing the old woman call him by his alias. He always made sure that any place he joined would only know him by his fake name of Ren Suwabe and made any payments in cash. He walked over to the desk and pulled a rose out of the vase on her desk.

“Hello there Tachibana-chan. I don’t know what it is, but you always seem to get more beautiful the more I come here” said Ren, handing the rose to Tachibana.

“Oh, Suwabe-san! Don’t humor an old woman. You are making me blush and my dead husband will get mad at you wherever he is up in heaven” said Tachibana.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to get haunted by his ghost. Any man smart enough to have married you definitely wouldn’t have left you, even in death.”

“Suwabe-san! Stop it! I will never understand how you are still single with all that sweet talk you do! You should find someone nice to settle down with and maybe you could even start a family.”

Ren lightly chuckled, “You flatter me, Tachibana-san. Unfortunately, I’m still just looking for that special someone. Speaking of which, I think I have my eyes set on a certain newcomer.” Ren gestured over to Masato, who had his back turned and was talking to some older women. “Would you be a dear and make it so I can attend today’s event?”

“I think that should be fine. With you, we now have an even number.” Ren attempted to place the rose back in the vase, but Tachibana stopped him. “Take the rose with you. I hope it brings you the best of luck in finding love.”

Ren bowed and tucked the rose into his breast pocket. “Why thank you. However, there is no luck in love. Only fate.”

Ren walked away and into the room Masato was in, but keeping his distance. He just wanted to observe him until the event started. Ren watched as Masato laughed at a joke told by one of the women he was with and smirked, thinking about what he would look like when he was fucking him senseless. ‘By the time I’m done with you Hijirikawa, I’ll have you screaming my name and being unable to live without me. And when that happens, I will break you and crush any part of your spirit or heart that remains.’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Masato heard the grandfather clock strike 2’o clock and made his way to the center of the room, along with the other men and women in the room. He saw Tachibana-san clear her throat before speaking.

“Alright everyone. We have an even amount of people, so it is time to start the weekly “Singles Mingle” 1-hour event. We have quite a few newcomers so I will explain the how things work here. First, you will be paired up with a random person in the group. As well, one of you will become a seater while the other is a mover. If you are a seater, you will stay in your seat for the duration of the event. If you are a mover, after you have talked with your current partner for 5 minutes, you will move to the table to your right. Am I clear?”

Everyone nodded their heads and Tachibana smiled. “Now for some rules. First, roughhousing or any kind of crude language or behavior will not be tolerated in this shop. If anything happens, I will have security escort you out of the building and ban you from any future meets. Second, we do not judge here. If you are not into gay, or straight, men or women, please let the other know and just have a friendly chat. Nothing wrong with making new friends. Third, if a pair would like to get to know more of each other after the 5 minutes are up, both of you must talk to me first. Then you must leave and talk to each other somewhere else, so it doesn’t break the atmosphere of the event. Fourth, I ask that individuals not leave in the middle of the event unless there is an important reason. It would give us an odd number of people and no one should be left out. Everybody understand?”

Once again, everyone nodded. At this, Tachibana clapped her hands twice and a small bowl with small pieces of paper was brought in front of her. “Alright, then. Everyone, please grab a number from the bowl and then find the table that has your number on it. The person with your same number will get to your table not long after. If you have an “S” on your paper, you are a seater. If you have an “M”, you are a mover. Once everyone is seated, the event can begin. I hope you all have fun meeting new and old faces” said Tachibana. Everyone, including Masato, formed a line to get their number. When it was Masato’s turn, he reached his hand in and pulled out a paper with a “1” and “S” on it.

‘Hmm…guess I’m a seater. Now to find my table’, thought Masato.

He looked around to find which table was his out of the 12 tables that formed a circle around the room. He felt that the design of each oak table was simple and quaint, as they were covered with a white cloth and had a pitcher of ice water with a plate sliced lemons on the side and a few empty glasses around it. The chairs were also wooden, but they had detailed carvings along the top and the seat cushion was soft and made of cotton. When he reached his assigned table and sat down, one of the ladies he had been talking with before sat in the opposite chair. Masato smiled at her and thought, ‘Maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.’

However, after about half an hour of either talking to older women about everyday life or older men who just wanted to get in his pants, Masato just wanted to leave. An example of one of these older guys would be his current partner by the name of Sumi. The man had black hair with a streak of white in it and talked about how he was the CEO of some new technology company in the Shinjuku district. That would be fine if Sumi was not staring at Masato with lust and constantly trying to grab and touch Masato’s hands with his meaty, sweaty fingers. As Sumi kept talking to him, Masato thought about the 4 pairs he already saw leave, hands linked and looking at each other like they were on cloud 9. He was only brought out of his thoughts when the 5-minute bell rang to signal his freedom from Sumi’s advances. Sumi gave him his business card and said to call him anytime. Masato politely put the card in his pocket, making a mental note to throw it away when he was heading back home.

He no longer felt this was a good stress-free environment and almost got up to apologize to Tachibana-san for wanting to leave when his eyes widen. Sitting down across from him was a man with long, orange hair and eyes so blue that they looked like the sky. He was in an expensive-looking, dark blue suit and had a rose in his breast pocket. But it was his voice that caused Masato’s soul to stir within him.

“Hello there. My name is Ren Suwabe. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! By the way, in case anyone has noticed, whenever the characters are going by an alias or just changed their name for some reason, than I let them keep their first name and had their last name be the same as their voice actor. I know it would probably be more logical to change both the first and last name, but it was easier for me to write the character dialogues when the first name was the same.  
> As I said before, the next chapter will be sometime on Sunday, according to CST timezone. I apologize this chapter was kind of short, but the rest of Ren and Masato's first 'meeting' will be included in the next chapter. Please comment on how you like the story or how you think of the character's so far. Thank you for all the support I have received so far and I hope you continue to enjoy the story as it progresses.


	4. Cat and Mouse Seduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren attempts to make Masato fall for him, using some seduction and using his alias to its full potential. Will Masato fall for Ren's charm, or will Masato realize Ren's true intentions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! As promised, here is the next chapter for this story! I hope you guys enjoy it. Warnings: attempted rape, cursing.

Saturday: August 12, 2017 2:30pm

Masato only stared at the man in front of him, until he realized the man was waiting for him to reply back. He cleared his throat to try and regain his composure.

‘Calm down. What is wrong with me? Just cause the man looks nice, has beautiful eyes, has a really good voic – okay stop it mind! I have never been into men and I am not starting now. But maybe it would be good to learn more about him; something is telling me that I should keep my eyes on him. Whether that’s a good thing or not’ thought Masato.

Masato brushed back his hair and extended his hand out to Ren.

“Masato Hijirikawa. It is nice to meet you as well, Suwabe-san.”

Ren gently, but firmly shook Masato’s hand. “Please. We are all friends here. Just call me Ren.”

“Alright, Ren-san. And you may call me Masato.”

Ren just chuckled as he withdrew his hand. “Now you remind me of a friend of mine. Speaking of reminders, your name sounds familiar. You wouldn’t happen to be THE Masato Hijirikawa of the Hijirikawa Agency, would you?”

Masato politely smiled. “Ah, yes. But please disregard my station. I’m just here because a coworker and friend of mine suggested this place as a good way to relieve stress.”

“Your friend sounds kind. I also happen to frequent this shop on a regular basis. Although I have made a lot of friends here, I always hope that I will one day meet my soulmate. Maybe today is that day.” Ren gracefully takes the rose out of his breast pocket and hands it to Masato. “For you.”

“Umm…thank you.” Masato takes the rose, grabbing it delicately by the thorn-less stem. While he looked at it, his thoughts slowly went to the man in front of him.

‘He does not seem like a bad guy, but it also seems he also wants to have sex. Honestly, with how he looks, I do not know how he does not already have a wife, mistress, sex friend, or something.’

His thoughts are broken by Ren calling his name. “Masato-san. I want to get to know as much as I can about you within our limited time. So, how about when you answer a question I asked, you can ask me a question, and I will answer with complete honesty? I’ll make sure not to ask anything about your work.”

Masato thought for a second and nodded. “Sure. Sounds fair. So what do you want to know?” He placed the rose in his own breast pocket.

Ren thought before asking, “How old are you?”

“I’m 24. My birthday is not until December. Then how old are you?”

“I actually turned 25 back in February. Next question: Did you ever want to be anything other than a detective?”

“No. Since I was young, I have always wanted to be a detective. Especially after reading articles about how they helped a lot of people. I was supposed to inherit my father’s financial firm, but after I made it clear I would not take over his business, my father gave me some money to open my own agency. However, he disowned me as well.”

Ren frowned slightly. “I’m sorry if I opened up old wounds Masato-san.”

“It is fine. Now what do you do for a living?”

“Ah, well I’m in charge of an insurance agency in the Shinjuku area. While it is fairly new, I think the business is doing well. Now, my next question. Have you been taking care of yourself? You look pretty thin.”

“Nothing to worry about, I assure you. My work just tends to take precedence over my health. I also have a pretty high metabolism, so no matter what I eat, I’ve always been pretty thin.”

“Masato-san! You will not be able to catch bad guys if you get sick from poor health. I will make you a meal and bring it to your office, if I have to!” Ren said, a worried look in his eyes.

“Please, Ren-san! You are too kind. But I promise I will take better care of myself, since you insist.” Masato took a quick sip of water and asked, “What kind of food do you like?”

And soon Ren and Masato were asking each other questions in a rapid succession, from favorite restaurants to movies to even books and childhood adventures. However, both soon heard the sound of the 5-minute bell ring, bringing a halt to their conversation. Masato was about to say farewell to Ren, but Ren suddenly grabbed his hand and looked him in the eye with a loving look.

“Masato-san. I know we just met, but I can’t bear to just leave our conversation at this. Please! Let’s go somewhere, so we can learn more about each other.”

Before Masato could respond, he found himself in front of Tachibana-san, Ren telling her that they wanted to leave. Masato quickly wrenched his hand from Ren’s grasp, holding it to his chest.

“Ren-san. Please forgive me for being rude. But I have no intention of going anywhere with anybody. I would rather just go home and rest.” Masato bowed to Tachibana-san. “I apologize, Tachibana-san. I suddenly feel very tired, and so I need to return home.”

Tachibana frowned, but bowed back nevertheless. “As you wish, Hijirikawa-san. Please visit us again if you get the chance.”

Masato stood back up and walked quickly to the door. “Thank you. I will consider it.” He then walked out of the shop, heading to the left for a longer, less crowded walk home, giving him more time to clear his head.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ren was shocked, not believing what he just saw. Someone rejected him. Even after all that sweet talk he had to do. Even after telling him all that information about himself, even if more than half of it was a lie. Even after having to pretend to be worried and concerned about his greatest enemy.

Ren was not angry. He was livid.

He clenched his fist in frustration. He thought he could win this bet fast. He already got lucky by being a mover, even if it took about 30 minutes to finally reach his prey. He saw how Masato reacted when he sat down, and he seemed to trust him during their conversation. With everything going his way, Ren thought for sure he could get Masato to a hotel, video him getting fucked, and then savor his victory by watching Masato mentally break once Ren revealed the truth. But he went too fast, and now he may never get as perfect a chance to get to Masato. That blue-haired stick-up-his-ass motherfucker!

It was only when someone tapped on his shoulder that he remembered he was still in the “Singles Mingle” shop, so he forced himself to calm down and turned around to find a concerned Tachibana-san.

She asked, “Suwabe-san. Are you okay?”

Ren took a deep breath. “I will be fine, Tachibana-san. Guess I just went too fast.”

“Oh, dear. It will be alright. You may meet him again sometime. Just remember to go slowly next time.”

“Thank you. I guess I will take my leave as well.”

Ren was about to go, when an older gentlemen walked up to Tachibana-san.

“Tachibana-san! My partner up and left me! I just went to the bathroom real quick, not even 30 seconds, and I come back to find him gone!”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry sir! He must have gone out the back entrance while I was trying to help Suwabe-san.” She took a quick look around. “It must have been Sumi-san! I have warned him about doing this multiple times. Not to mention that he has been making other members feel uncomfortable lately. I will have to ban him now. While that is disappointing, I will gladly talk with you if you will allow it.”

The man agreed and they walked back to his table, Tachibana giving Ren a quick farewell and sympathetic look. Ren thought about it and realized Sumi was the man that was talking to Masato before he did. Sumi had hit on him once before as well, but Ren made sure that Sumi knew that he was not interested. Ren also remembered seeing him trying to make moves on Masato, feeling angered by someone trying to take away his prey. The only thing that stopped him from beating the man up right on the spot was the need to keep his cover and Masato’s obvious disgust. Ren’s eyes widened when he kept thinking about it.

‘He must have left not too long after I dragged Masato from our table. He obviously wanted to have sex with Masato. He always was more into the younger guys. Not to mention, he more than likely saw what direction he went. But there is no way, he would…’

Ren didn’t finish his thought as he raced out the door and down the sidewalk in the direction Masato walked down. Masato had only left minutes ago so they could not have gone far. Ren didn't know what way Masato could have gone, but just kept running down the sidewalk. Even after running down 2 blocks, he still saw no sign of either of them. He was passing an alley when he heard something like a cry. He stopped and listened, only to hear the sound again. He slowly looked into the alley and saw something that made his blood boil and his eyes see red.

Sumi had his hands all over Masato’s bare chest. Masato’s blazer and shirt laying on the dirty ground. And Masato was on the ground with bruises all over his face, and his nose and lip were bleeding profusely.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Masato was not sure how it happened. He was just walking down the sidewalk, thinking about Ren, when a pair of hands grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth to prevent him from shouting. He felt himself being dragged backwards and into the nearby alley. He tried to fight back by kicking the man hard in the shin and attempting to elbow him in the stomach. However, the man seemed unfazed by the attack and turned Masato around, only to punch him in the face multiple times. Masato blocked a few of the punches, but the man was still able to land some, the damage more than likely causing bruises. Masato kept fighting, even biting the man’s hand when it came close to his mouth.

Suddenly, the man grabbed the front of his face and smashed the back of Masato’s head into the nearby brick wall. Masato went limp, feeling blood slowly spill from the back of his head and even feeling blood flowing from his nose and bottom lip. His attacker laid him on his back, causing Masato to wince from the pain in his skull. While he could not move, he was still conscious and saw the face of his attacker: Sumi-san. He could feel Sumi slowly unbutton his blazer, before moving to his shirt.

“Oh, Masato-kun. I’m sorry that I had to do this. If only you hadn’t been so affectionate with that other man to make me jealous, then I wouldn’t have been so rough of you. And if you hadn’t fought me, then we could have both enjoyed what’s about to happen.”

Masato felt the last button of his shirt being removed and his blazer and shirt were taken off simultaneously and fast. Masato could not look down to see what was happening, but he could feel every disgusting touch of Sumi’s hands going across his chest and stomach. His breathing quicken as he felt Sumi’s tongue on his chest and nipples. Masato closed his eyes, only being able to whimper and cry out, hoping that maybe someone could hear him and save him.

All of a sudden, he felt Sumi’s touches stop and the sound of him groaning in pain. He opened his eyes and saw an orange and blue figure standing above him. The man let out a snarl and charged out of Masato’s sight. Masato did not have to wonder where he went, as he heard the sounds of Sumi and the man fighting. Trash cans were being knocked over and both men were cursing, but Masato could tell that Sumi was being overwhelmed. His vision was getting hazier, but he struggled to stay awake.

Masato then heard the mystery man say, “If you know what is good for you, you better stay out of my sight and away from him, you sick son of a bitch!” before the sound of scurrying feet echoed throughout the alley. The orange and blue man then moved back into Masato’s darkening vision and cradled his head, causing Masato to flinch. Noticing this, the man then moved his hand to Masato’s neck and said, “My god, he really messed you up. I need to get you to a hospital.”

Masato finally saw the man’s face and whispered, “Ren…san…” He then heard Ren yell his name before his vision blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I do not know exactly when I will get the next chapter out, but it will be sometime this coming week. After that, all updates will take at between 2 weeks or a month at most. I will be heading back to school and I already have a few projects that I will have to work on. Please let me know how you guys like the story so far in the comments and I hope that you continue to enjoy this story until the very end!


	5. Concerning Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren rushes Masato to the hospital, much to the surprise of Tokiya. He knows that Ren wants to win the bet, but is there something more going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too much to say about this chapter. I will add that I will probably stop including cursing as a warning, as I feel most chapters will have cursing in some form or fashion. This is another long chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it.

Saturday August 12, 2017: 2:50pm

Ren was unsure of what he was doing. All he knew was that after Masato passed out, he used his suit jacket to cover Masato’s chest and called Tokiya for an immediate pick-up, telling him his location. Not even a minute later, his right-hand lieutenant had pulled up near the entrance of the alley and Ren tossed Masato’s discarded clothes on to his shoulder. He then quickly picked up Masato, before jumping in the car. He saw Tokiya’s eyes widen, but Ren quickly barked out orders before he could say anything. 

“I will explain later. Just get us to the nearest hospital that is under the SR’s control. Now, Tokiya!”

Tokiya could see that there was no point in arguing and just pressed his foot hard into the gas pedal. Ren held Masato tightly as Tokiya sped to the main road, weaving through traffic and going about 90 mph. Ren knew from experience how fast and good Tokiya could drive under pressure. No doubt they would reach the hospital in a matter of minutes. Ren grabbed one of the spare towels that was in the backseat and put it to the back of Masato’s head, trying to stop the bleeding.

Ren yelled, “Masato, you better wake the fuck up! No way in hell is that man going to be known for taking you down before me. I will not allow that! Now wake up!” 

However, Masato still did not wake up, and a lot of blood was coming out of his head, soaking through the towel into Ren’s hand and even on to his shirt and pants. The car suddenly pulled to a stop in front of the Toshima Emergency Hosipital. 

Tokiya looked at his Ren through the rearview mirror and said, “Boss, go in. I’ll park the car and be with you shortly.”

Ren nodded before jumping out of the car with Masato in his arms. He burst through the entrance of the hospital and started yelling, “I need help! This man was attacked!”

This got the attention of everyone in the room, and soon there were nurses and several doctors surrounding Ren before taking Masato and putting him on a gurney. The doctors started barking out orders as Masato was wheeled through the hospital doors. Ren tried to follow, but was stopped by a nurse.

She said, “Sir, I must ask that you wait here so the doctors can do their job.”

“Miss, while I hate to be rude to a lady, I must ask that you step aside. Now” said Ren, not in the mood to be dealing with normal people.

“Sorry Sir, but you must stay here.” She started looking him up and down. “And how are you related to the guy? You don’t look like his family.”

Ren was getting frustrated and said, “I’m his boyfriend, now move!”, hoping the lie would get him in the door. Unfortunately, the woman refused to relent.

“Boyfriend, huh? He looked pretty banged up. Do I need to call the police about possible domestic violence?”

Ren was reaching his boiling point, wanting nothing more than to strangle the thin neck of the bitch in front of him. But then another man joined the conversation.

“Ren-sama! I-It is nice to see you! I’m Dr.Kaguri, the director and head doctor of this hospital.” Ren glared at the man, making the doctor drop his gaze to the floor. “A-Although I’m sure you already knew that. I apologize if my nurse has been giving you a hard time.” The man turned to his nurse and whispered, “Leave now Mari! You are causing a scene.” 

Mari gave Dr.Kaguri an indignant look, but walked away. The doctor turned back to Ren and said, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Ren took deep breathes to calm himself. “I want to go in and see the man I just brought in. He was attacked and I want to make sure he is okay.”

“Of course! But I please ask that you wait just for a little while so my doctors can work on the man and get him to a more stable state. I promise that the second his condition is well enough, you will be the first to know and be given access to see him immediately. As well, I will make sure that it is unnecessary for either you or your friend to fill out any paperwork. F-For now, please just take a seat with your acquaintance” said Dr.Kaguri, bowing and gesturing to the seats behind Ren.

Ren glanced back and saw Tokiya casually sitting in one of the sterile, white waiting room chairs. Ren turned his attention back to the Dr.Kaguri and nodded, before walking towards Tokiya. However, he stopped halfway before he walked quickly back to the doctor. 

He came to a stop in front of the man and slowly leaned down to his ear and whispered, “By the way, let’s try and make sure that man doesn’t know about who I really am, okay? It would be a shame if funding for your hospital stopped and you would have to declare bankruptcy on yet another hospital under your care. Do I make myself clear?” Ren saw the man was shaking, but he was still able to give a small nod. Ren smirked and said, “Please go take good care of my friend, Dr.Kaguri.” 

Ren was unsure if he had seen anyone rush so fast through the hospital doors. While the terrified look on the man’s face did give him some sort of pleasure, Ren was just not feeling it. He turned around to take his seat next to Tokiya, who was giving him the ‘you have a lot of explaining to do later’ look. Ren sighed.

‘I don’t get how he did it, but Hijirikawa even messed up my attempts to get laid. He is so paying for this later.’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Masato’s eyes slowly opened, only to be blinded by the bright lights above. He tried to lift his hands to shield his eyes, but felt a slight sting as he did. He looked down and saw an IV drip in his arm. 

‘Guess I’m in a hospital. But how did I get here? All I remember is going to Singles Mingle, meeting Ren-san, heading home, and then I was pulled into the alley by – ‘

Masato then remembered everything and sat up quickly, only to feel dizziness and pain in the back of his head. He took some deep breaths and the pain slowly started to dissipate. Once the pain lessened and his head cleared, Masato unbuttoned his hospital gown to look at his chest. He found a few bite marks on his chest, but they did not go past his nipples so that was a good sign. He calmed down and tried not to think of the worst possible outcome. It was then a doctor walked into his room while looking at a clipboard.

“Ah, Hijirikawa-san! I’m the head doctor, Dr.Kaguri. It is good to see you awake and moving after sleeping for 2 hours. I must say that you did give us a scare with all those injuries you had, but it was nothing my doctors couldn’t handle.” He paused for a moment to look at his clipboard. “As for your injuries, you suffered some major blood loss from the back of your skull, but surprisingly no sign of a concussion. Nevertheless, you do have some stitches back there and you should not be surprised by some minor memory loss. We will have to schedule a later appointment to have those removed. You will also be sporting several bruises on your face, but those should disappear in a couple weeks. While I do believe that you can continue working, I do suggest not doing anything strenuous.” Dr.Kaguri finally made eye contact with Masato and saw concern and distress in his eyes. “Is there something else wrong, Hijirikawa-san?” 

“Umm… yes. When your doctors worked on me, was there any signs of…rape?”

Dr.Kaguri was visibly shocked by the question, but quickly shook his head.

“N-No. As far as we could tell, your lower half was not exposed until we had to put you in your hospital gown. Nothing to worry about, I assure you” said Dr.Kaguri.

Masato let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Dr.Kaguri.”

“It shouldn’t be me that you are thanking. If your friend did not get you here as fast as he did, your injuries could have been much more severe.”

Masato gave the doctor a puzzled look. “What friend are you talking about?” asked Masato.

“I believe he is referring to me.”

Masato turned and saw Ren leaning against the door frame. Dr.Kaguri quickly bowed to Masato and said, “I’ll just give you two some alone time. I’ll come by later to bring you your belongings”, before walking out of the room, leaving Ren and Masato alone. 

Ren walked over and grabbed a chair, bringing it to Masato’s bedside. He sat down and gave Masato a dirty-looking shirt and blazer.

“Here is some of your clothes. I picked them up in case you still wanted them. I don’t know if there was anything in the pockets, but if there was it might have fallen out at the alley.”

“Umm…thank you, Ren-san” said Masato. He had completely forgotten he had worn those clothes only a few hours ago. 

Masato thought, ‘Guess this is what Dr.Kaguri meant about having memory loss.’ He grabbed the clothes and put them to the side of the bed.

Both men sat in silence for a while before Ren carefully reached for one of Masato’s hands. Masato flinched, but forced himself to relax, allowing Ren to hold his hand. 

Ren bowed his head slightly and said, “I’m so glad you are okay. I wanted to apologize for my actions, so I tried to find you. When I saw that man all over you like that, I just lost it. And then when you passed out, I thought you had…”

Masato couldn’t see Ren’s eyes past his long bangs, but he was sure the man was holding back tears. He smiled and gently laid his free hand on top of Ren’s, who looked up to make eye contact with Masato.

“I’m fine, Ren-san. I honestly should be thanking you. If you had not saved me, Sumi-san may have raped me, or even killed me. You have my utmost gratitude” said Masato, bowing as best he could in his condition. 

Ren only shook his head. “It was nothing, Masato. It was the right thing to do. Is that not what you do for a living?”

Masato chuckled, “I guess you are correct. However, I insist that I must pay you back for what you did. Not to mention, from the look of your suit, it looks like I might have ruined it, whether it was during your fight or when you were carrying me.”

Masato saw Ren look down at his bloody, scuffed-up suit. “This is nothing to worry about I assure you. But if you really want to pay me back, how about…you let me come by your office one day to bring you a meal? It would certainly put my heart at ease, knowing that you are eating properly.” Masato was going to protest, but Ren put his finger to Masato’s lips to hush him. “And I will not take no for an answer, Hijirikawa-san. If you are worried about my suit, don’t be. I can easily get another one without much difficultly. Besides, it is reward enough for me to see you smiling and enjoying a meal I made myself. So, will you accept my offer?” Ren asked, while extending his hand to Masato.

Masato looked at Ren’s hand, before gently grabbing it in agreement. “It seems that I do not have a choice. I look forward to this meal of yours. When should I expect you to come?”

Ren smiled. “Just like my meal, I will keep it a surprise. But it will probably be sometime next week.”

“Ok. That sounds fine.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Both Masato and Ren looked to see a dark-blue haired man open the door, holding a plastic bag with several articles of clothing in it and a dark-blue suit jacket.

The man then said, “Sir, we should get going. Dr.Kaguri said Hijirikawa-san will be good to go in a few hours. Besides, you have other business to attend to.” He walked in and gave Masato the bag. He said, “Here are your belongings. I have already removed my employer’s jacket”, while giving Masato a cold, indifferent look.

Masato thanked the man and took the bag. He was a little put off by the man’s glare, but assumed the man must be Ren’s assistant. Maybe he was mad that Masato was keeping Ren from his work? This made Masato feel a little guilty. 

Ren sighed. “Alright, Tokiya.” Ren turned to Masato. “I’m sorry to leave you, Masato. But, with my secretary, I can never stray far from my work. Will you need a ride back to your home?”

“No, it is okay. I will call one of my coworkers to give me a ride back to my apartment. Please, you have done so much for me already. I do not want to be responsible for you missing your work as well.”

Ren smiled before standing up and gently brushing back some of Masato’s hair. “If you say so, Masato. I will see you next week then. Be safe.”

Masato waved goodbye as Ren walked out the door, with Tokiya following not far behind. Once the door closed, Masato let out a sigh and opened the bag to see if he could find his phone.

Masato thought, ‘Syo is going to have field day hearing about how I spent my day off.’

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ren was watching other cars pass by from the back-seat of his car as Tokiya drove him back to his penthouse. He was trying to ignore the glare he was receiving from his top lieutenant through the rearview mirror. However, Tokiya would not let that happen.

“Boss. I would not question your actions without good reason. But I do have to ask: What the hell do you think you were doing?! You gave our greatest enemy medical treatment when he was going to die! Called him your friend, even worse your boyfriend! Do you have any idea what could happen if someone from our family saw this or hears about it?!”

“Calm down, Tokiya. It is all part of the plan. I already told you that some fat small-fry tried to have his way with my prey. I was not about to let that sleazebag get credit for bringing down Masato when I’ve already claimed him as my target. He may have made it harder for me to get Masato into my bed. At least this gesture will bring me closer to getting Masato to fall for me. I got permission to enter his office, did I not?”

“Sure, but I still do not understand why you could not let the man die.”

“Tokiya. I still have my pride. My bet was that I would break Masato. I need him alive to do that. Besides, the government wouldn’t care if he was killed by a gang member or not. They will just twist the truth and make it so we are the bad guys either way and that will give them enough incentive to do an all-out genocide of the gangs. Neither I nor Reiji can handle that kind of assault. So my only other option is to break Masato from the inside out, so that way he lives and learns who is in control.”

“Alright, but what will happen if someone from the family catches you going into his office or anywhere else for that matter? Not to mention, if someone hears you when you are acting and saying all that cheesy stuff. Your actions might cause people to question your authority.”

“If that happens, I will deal with it. I was going to announce it to the family eventually anyway. Please don’t worry Tokiya. I know what I am doing.”

Tokiya sighed. “Fine. But please try to remember the position and power that you hold.”

“Oh, trust me. I remember. Which is why I’m putting a hit on this man.” 

Ren handed Tokiya a business card. It said, “Keichi Sumi, CEO of Sumi Innovations Co.”, along with a number, address, and e-mail. 

“Who is this?”

“The man who tried to steal my prize. Let everyone in the family know that I will be giving away 50 grand to anyone who kills this man and brings me proof of his death. That will teach him for touching something that does not belong to him.”

Tokiya was slightly shocked by the amount of money offered, but just nodded, continuing to drive across the border between Toshima and Shinjuku. Ren could see a conflicted expression on Tokiya’s face. 

“What’s wrong, Tokiya? Is there something you are not telling me?” asked Ren.

Tokiya took a deep breath and said, “Ren-san, you know I would only say something out of concern for your safety and well-being. It is just that, even for a man that set his eyes on your target, normally you would just tell people to kill him and maybe give them 5 grand for their troubles.”

“Maybe I'm feeling generous. What’s your point, Tokiya?”

“Well, I do not want to accuse you of anything, but is it possible you are actually falling in 1-”

Before Tokiya could finish, Ren had his gun pressed against the back of Tokiya’s head. In a dangerous tone, Ren said, “I suggest you really think about the next thing that comes out of your mouth. It may just save your life.”

Tokiya’s heartbeat increased, but he did not flinch, and kept his voice calm and his eyes on the road ahead of him. “It is only out of concern, Boss. I do not want you to suffer like you did after… you know who.”

Ren kept his gun in place for a few more seconds before lowering it and putting the safety back on. He then tucked it back in its place under the seat.

“There is no need to worry about that. I will never let love blind me like it did before. The only thing in my heart now is this family.” Ren sighed in relief before saying, “You are always worrying and looking out for me. You really should try and just relax one of these days.”

“My job is to protect you. My loyalty to you and this family is worth more to me than getting some R&R.”

Ren chuckled. “Always so diligent about your work. I guess that’s why you have been my bodyguard for the last 7 years.”

“It has been 8 years, Ren-san.”

“Damn, it’s been that long. We are getting so old!” said Ren, letting out a laugh.

“You still act like when we first met, Ren-san.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. You are just lucky that I’m a fair boss that does not like killing his bodyguards.” 

“Funny. I heard you killed one of your bodyguards back when you were 17. And it was only because he brought you the wrong gun. You even shot him to death with that same gun.”

“Well, that was so long ago…”

“You do realize I replaced that bodyguard, right? That only happened 8 years ago. It was not that long ago. Not to mention, you had about 4 other bodyguards before the one I replaced, and they all met similar fates.”

Ren was silent for a minute before saying, “Just shut up and drive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! Who could have been the person that messed with Ren's heart in the past? Guess you will just have to wait and see. The next chapter will be about Tokiya and Otoya meeting for the first time. Also, the next chapter will probably not be up for another 2 weeks since I will be going back to college. Please comment on what you thought of this chapter and, once again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	6. Favors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tokiya just wants to enjoy his days off, but Ren needs him to do an errand for him. One thing leads to another, but what happens when Tokiya has an encounter with a certain red-headed detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this coming out so late. I was in my last semester before graduating college to get my bachelor's degree and I had to fully focus on that. Good news: I graduated with my degree and I can write again. Bad news: Not really anything, I would just expect the next chapter to come out sometime either at the end of the month or the first week of June. Also, I do have to prepare for a convention I'm going to in June and I'm still moving out of my apartment. This chapter has: Gun violence, Small amounts of cursing, And just regular violence. Honestly though, there is nothing to bad in this chapter so hope you enjoy.

Monday August 14th, 2017 12:00pm

Tokiya sighed as he walked out the entrance to his apartment complex. It was a decent enough place, with a calming atmosphere and a casual style that helped Tokiya relax from his usual stress-filled day. Sure, he made enough money that he could afford to move into a much fancier place. Hell, Ren offered him a place in the same high-rise condominium that he lived in. But Tokiya didn’t need, nor desire, a fancy lifestyle. He just wanted a place that was comfortable, livable and close enough to Ren that he could feel that he had some space, while being around if Ren needed anything. 

And today was one of those times. Tokiya had just been reading a novel at his home, chilling on the couch with a cup of coffee on the side table. Ren had told him yesterday that he wasn’t leaving his apartment for a couple of days, which meant that Tokiya could take those days off. And so, other than a few calls from some of the other Rebel’s members about certain tasks or payments that needed to be collected, Tokiya had been enjoying the peace and quiet. That is until his phone rang, with the familiar saxophone ringtone that he had set for Ren. He gently set his book down before picking up his phone and accepting the call. 

“Ichi, how have you been enjoying your day off?” asked Ren.

“I was enjoying it just fine. Should I assume you need something?”

“Aw, Ichi. Is it wrong for me to just check up on you from time to time?” Ren said in a concerned tone.

“No, Boss. However, you usually never call unless you need something.”

“Well, I guess you have me there. I need you to do me a favor and go to the nearby market to pick up a few ingredients. I’m trying to perfect this dish to give to the HA Boss and I’ve run out of a few things.”

Tokiya sighed in exasperation. “Sure. Fine. Honestly, Ren-san. If you only needed an errand boy, I would gladly step down and find someone more appropriate for you. You and I both know that you can take care of yourself without my assistance anyway.”

“Oh, Ichi. You break my heart! I could never find someone more capable than you. Besides, Saotome was the one who assigned you to me those many years ago. So why break up a perfect team.”

Tokiya just shook his head as he got up off the couch. “Sure, whatever. Just send me the list and I will go and bring them to you right away. It is the store about 2 blocks from you, with the old man who pays $100 per month, right?”

“Yep, that’s the one!”

“Alright then. See you soon.”

“Thanks, Ichi! Oh, and remember it is still your day off. Stop trying to be formal all the time and dress casually for once.”

And that is what lead Tokiya to where he is now: walking down to the supermarket that was a 4 blocks away from his apartment. He dressed in a simple, purple button-up shirt, black pants and black gloves. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and looked at the list Ren sent: dried seaweed, crab, cucumbers, sesame seeds, and different types of fish.

‘Honestly, I understand wanting to get the trust of your enemy, but cooking a meal for him?! Not to mention, he doing so much of ‘his plan’ in public. If he’s not careful, the family might think his loyalty is shifting. And I can already think of a couple of upstarts that would not mind taking his position.’

Tokiya took a deep breath to clear his head. ‘I need to calm down. Ren is my boss and friend. I need to trust his decisions and only be prepared to cover his back when necessary.’

Tokiya walked through the supermarket doors, a bell ringing to signal his intrusion. He glanced at the store owner, who was slightly shocked by Tokiya’s arrival, but desperately kept calm to not alarm the other customers. Tokiya gave him a small nod, before grabbing a basket and heading to the vegetable and spice section. After passing several other aisles and shoppers, he easily found the sesame seeds, cucumbers and seaweed only a couple aisles down. He then headed for the fish section, greeting the man at the counter before asking for a crab, along with some salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel, and halibut. While waiting for the fish to be given to him, Tokiya heard the sound of the bell ring, however the fish seller came back and handed him his requested items, so Tokiya ignored the sound and grabbed them. 

He started walking to the cash registers when gunshots began to fire around the store. Tokiya quickly ducked into an aisle, regretting not bringing his gun with him. The sounds of panicked running and screaming echoed through the store, but quickly turned silent as more gun shots were fired and a deeper voice started barking out orders.

“Listen up everyone! If you shut your traps and do what you are told, you may all just come out of this alive! Now, I’m sure you have all realized what the situation is. So when my right-hand man, Ryo, gets to you, you better have your valuables ready to drop in the bag! And no one try and be a hero, because I have plenty of bullets and one of them will have your name on it!” 

Tokiya just sat there in utter disbelief. ‘Are they actually robbing a store within our territory? These guys are either new or just plain stupid.’

He heard the sound of a child crying in the aisle next to him, along with the sounds of jewelry and coins falling against each other. 

“Geez, lady. That’s all you had. I could get more for selling your kid on the black market.”

This only caused the child to cry more, and even the mother released some sobs. Tokiya then heard the sound of steps coming closer to him. Not long after, a scrawny, thin man, with a scar on his neck and bags under his eyes, appeared at the other end of the aisle. His smug grin widened when he spotted Tokiya, showing off missing and rotting teeth.

“Well, you seem to be a handsome guy. And I bet that pretty face of yours has gotten you a decent amount of cash as well. So, how about you hand all of it over so your main asset doesn’t end up getting ruined.”

“Hmph. I don’t have any cash to give to idiots like you. Besides, you do know whose territory this is, correct? I suggest you leave now, unless you want to leave in a body bag” Tokiya said with a smirk.

“How dare you! You think you are special or something, pretty boy?! If you won’t give me the money, I’ll just take it from you!”

Ryo then walked up to Tokiya before gripping his shirt and ripping it open, most of the buttons falling off in the process. Ryo began to smirk, but it soon turned to terror when he saw Tokiya’s chest. Imprinted on the area above his heart was a tattoo of a diamond with an orange lightning bolt splitting it in half. The mark of a Shining Rebels Top Officer. Ryo’s terrified gaze met Tokiya’s, who stared back with an icy glare. 

“Holy shit. You…your…Hey, Gin. We might be in tr-”

Before Ryo could finish, a flash of red tackled him to the ground. Both fell to the ground close to Tokiya. Ryo tried to overtake his attacker, but it was too late, as the red-headed stranger put him in a headlock, not relenting until Ryo lost consciousness. The stranger then laid the man down and put handcuffs on his wrists.

‘Wait, handcuffs? Shit, he’s a cop! I can’t let him see my chest’ thought Tokiya.

He quickly covered his chest as best he could, buttoning up whatever buttons were left to cover his tattoo. It was then that the stranger walked over to Tokiya and held out his hand. 

“Are you okay? It looked like he may have roughed you up a bit.”

Tokiya just looked at the offered hand, giving the red-head a suspicious look. The stranger seemed to notice as he quickly said, “Ah, please don’t worry, I’m Otoya Ittoki, a detective of the Hijirikawa Detective Agency. I’ve already contacted some of my colleagues, so more help should be on the way. Just let me get you to a safer place and then I’ll go take care of that other guy.”

Tokiya then thought, ‘Ha, this detective must think I’m some weakling. Well, I guess it wouldn’t be bad to let him think this way. Besides, if I cooperate, he’ll probably leave me alone faster.’

Tokiya was about to take Otoya’s hand, when he saw the glint of a gun further down the aisle. In a split second, he yelled, “Move!” before pushing Otoya down as a bullet was fired in their direction.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Otoya wasn’t sure what happened exactly. All he knew was that one minute he was helping a man to his feet, the next he could feel the cold, tile floor against his cheek. Then he heard the sound of a bullet rushing above him, followed by the sound of a glass bottle breaking behind him. He looked in the opposite direction and saw the other thug, who must have been the man that Ryo had called Gin, who was currently pointing his gun straight at him and the purple-haired man.

‘Damn it. I didn’t even hear him coming. I should have been more careful. I need to stop him before he seriously hurts someone.’ 

He began to reach for his gun, but suddenly the purple-haired man got up and ran towards the other thug.

Otoya yells, “Stop! It’s too dangerous!”

The purple-haired man didn’t listen though. The thug fired a couple shots at the man, but he was able to dodge them. Otoya then heard the thug say, “Shit, don’t get jammed now”, as he began to mess with his weapon. However, the purple-haired man didn’t stop and soon he was right in front of Gin. He punched the man straight in the face, causing Gin to let go of his weapon and fall into a stand of soda, causing cans and bottles to fall all over the floor. 

Much to Otoya’s surprise, Gin was able to get up fairly fast, forgetting the gun and charging at the purple-haired man. Otoya pointed his gun, preparing to fire, but the stranger got in the way once again when he slid between Gin’s legs before popping up behind him and kicking him in the back, sending Gin back down the food aisle. However, Gin again sprung to his feet and ran towards the purple-haired man. Otoya was shocked to see that the purple-haired man made no move to dodge Gin. Worried that the man was injured or delirious, Otoya ran towards the fight and yelled, “Both of you need to stop!”

However, what happened next completely amazed Otoya. The purple-haired man quickly revealed a can of soda, which he pointed at Gin before opening it, its contents spraying all over Gin and the floor. Gin covered his face as he fell to floor as the soda continued to pelt him until only small drips came out of the can. When this happened, Gin attempted to get up, only to slip on the soda that was on the floor and fall back on his back. The purple-haired man then kicked Gin in the stomach and pressed his knee into Gin’s shoulder, pinning him to the floor. Then he shoved his elbow into Gin’s neck and began to relentlessly punch the man in the face. 

Seeing that situation seemed to be resolved, Otoya ran up to the pair and tried to pry the purple-haired man off of Gin. “Sir, you did a great job, but you need to stop!”

The purple-haired man slowly looked at Otoya before letting go of Gin, who let out a groan of pain pass through his split lips. As Otoya bent down to put Gin’s handcuffs on, sirens could be heard outside the store, followed by the sound of the door being kicked open and Syo yelling into the store.

“Alright! Everybody get your hands up!”

Once Syo saw Otoya cuffing Gin, he lowered his weapon and walked towards him. 

“You okay, kid? We got here as soon as we could. But it looks like you have things pretty much taken care of.”

Otoya sheepishly laughed, “Yeah. I also got some help from this stranger here.”

Otoya pointed towards the purple-haired man, who only gave Syo a small nod of acknowledgement. It was then Otoya noticed how the man was using his hands to keep his shirt closed. 

“Are you hurt?”

The man gave him a strange look, but said, “No, I’m fine. That idiot back there just ripped the buttons off my shirt. And unfortunately I don’t have any other shirt, not to mention I’m supposed to be meeting my employer pretty soon.

Otoya’s eyes lit up before he grabbed the man’s arm. “I have a couple extra shirts in my car. I have to repay you for all that you did. You were a real hero!”

Before the man could reject his request, Otoya added, “I’ll even pay for all the food you bought. Just please let me do you this favor!” He even used his puppy eyes to try and get the man to listen to him.

This seemed to do the trick, as the man sighed before nodding in approval.

Otoya then ran down the aisle to go pick up the man’s groceries before heading to the registers.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘I can’t believe I’m doing this’

Tokiya had his one hand covering his face while the other was holding the groceries, as he watched the red-haired detective dig through his car for some shirts. The only reason he had agreed to this deal was because he didn’t want to look suspicious in front of the detectives, plus not having to spend any of his own money was nice as well. But he had been listening to the red-head drone on and on about random things as he searched for the clothes and Tokiya was getting a little annoyed. 

“I mean, those bad guys should be lucky that it was us that caught them. I’m pretty sure this is SR territory. They would probably be in body bags if any of the SR members were around.”

“Yeah, they sure are lucky” said Tokiya in a sarcastic tone.

Tokiya was about to just sneakily leave when the detective shouted, “Found them!”

He looked up to see the detective holding up a few plain white, button-up t-shirts. The detective quickly turned around, a big smile on his face as he handed Tokiya one of the shirts. Tokiya gently grabbed the t-shirt with his free hand and glanced over it, making sure there wasn’t any kind of weird devices on it. Finding that the shirt was clean and had no bugs, Tokiya placed the groceries on the ground, turned around and began to take off his old shirt, however he stopped abruptly after getting the shirt off his shoulders when he felt eyes on him. Tokiya looked behind him and saw the detective was staring at his back muscles.

“Umm…do you mind? I don’t appreciate being stared at.”

Tokiya watched as the detective turned red, before turning around and stammering out an apology. Tokiya shook his head and proceeded to put on the new shirt. It felt a bit too snug, especially around his pectorals and biceps, but it was fine for just a temporary shirt. 

He turned around, slinging his old shirt on to his left shoulder. “I’m done.”

Only then did the red-haired detective turn back around, somehow turning even redder than his hair once he fully saw Tokiya. 

‘Okay this is just getting weird. I better get out of here.’ Tokiya then said, “Okay, well I better get going. Don’t want to keep my boss waiting.”

He started to move, when the detective yelled, “Wait,” and grabbed his arm. He was worried that he had been found out as a gang member, but his worry quickly turned to confusion when the red-head said, “I have a favor to ask.”

With a confused look, Tokiya said, “Um, I don’t know what it is you want, but I’m probably not the best person to ask.”

The red-head glanced towards the side and said, “It’s just…well…I saw how good you fight in there. You were fighting like an absolute pro! I was only able to take down a guy because of a surprise attack. Not to mention, Gin would have shot me dead if you hadn’t pulled me out of the way. I’ve fought pretty well in other fights, but I’ve only ever learned the basic amount that they teach in the police academy. And, I really want to prove myself to my new boss and senpais. So…if you have time…will you please teach me some moves?”

Tokiya stared dumbfounded at the detective, not believing what he was hearing. He thought, ‘How did buying groceries get me into this mess? There is no way I can teach a detective, not to mention a member of HA, fighting moves. I’ll just have to reject him and get out of here fast.’

He rubbed the back of his head and said, “Look, I’m really busy so, even if I did accept, I doubt I would have time to teach you…” 

Tokiya’s eyes connected with the red-head’s, who was giving him the biggest puppy eyes Tokiya had ever seen. Tokiya quickly looked away, but could still feel the red-head’s eyes digging into his very soul. Finally, Tokiya let out a groan and said, “But I do have to return this shirt to you. I’ll let you know when I have cleaned it and we can have a short lesson then, alright? Please, just quit it with the eyes!”

The red-head’s smile came back ten-fold and he said, “Oh thank you! Thank you so much mister…”

“Miyano. Tokiya Miyano” said Tokiya, as he put one bag of groceries into each hand.

“Okay. Well, thank you Miyano-san. By the way, I’m Otoya Ittoki! I can’t wait to train with you!” Otoya enthusiastically said.

Tokiya gave a small wave and said, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll let you know. See you later.”

Tokiya walked away from the detective’s car, heading into the direction of Ren’s condo. ‘I doubt Ren will believe the hell that I’ve gone through within the last hour.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you enjoyed this guys! The next chapter will go back to Ren and Masato, plus a few key details will be revealed. I have been planning for this chapter for a while so there is a chance that I will release it sometime next week, but I would say it is more likely that it will come out closer to the end of May. I'm hoping that there is no other long gap between chapters for awhile, but I do have graduate school in August. But I'm hoping that it won't completely take up my time. Let me know if you enjoy this chapter in the comments below, or if you have any kind of advice on how I can improve comment that as well. Thank you all so much for your support and I hope you guys have a wonderful day.


	7. Darkness Within the Light's Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren uphelds his promise to Masato of bringing him his meal, along with meeting more members of the HA detectives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. There's not anything bad in this chapter aside from a few swear words. I do like this chapter since we get to interact with Syo and Natsuki more. I felt bad since I haven't had a chance to write about them since chapter 1. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Wednesday August 16th, 2017 12:30 pm

Ren waved and smiled at another group of girls as he made his way through the 3rd floor of the Hijirikawa agency. In his other hand he carried a plastic bag that had an opaque food container inside of it. He walked down the bustling hallway of office girls, desk jockeys and detectives in his black suit jacket and pants, a slightly-opened grey shirt that showed some of his chest, and his favorite black, circle earrings. Along with his confident smile and small, polite gestures, no one would actually believe that, inside Ren’s mind, he was in utter disbelief of the idiocy around him.

Ren smugly thought, ‘Always thought the HA was a joke, but to think they have no idea that their worst enemy has entered their domain is beyond belief. Not to mention, most of these women seem more interested in the next good looking piece meat than solving crimes. But I shouldn’t let my guard down. Once I gain Masato’s trust, I’ll have all the ammunition I need to make this place a shell of its current self.’

Finally, Ren reached a set of oak doors at the end of the hallway. Printed across the opaque glass was “Hijirikawa Detective Agency Main Office” written in black ink. He gently pushed the doors open to see a ton of desks that had piles of papers and folders all over them, and people either running with phones in their hands or pushing to get out the doors for only God knows what. 

‘Well, guess this is what they call the “bullpen”. I bet Masato’s office is somewhere towards the back.’

Ren maneuvered his way through the desks and people and finally reached a room with a name plate saying “Detective M. Hijirikawa” on it. However, when Ren tried to open the door, he found that it was locked. 

‘Well, shit. Looks like he’s not around. I’ll just have to wait for the goody-two-shoes then, but maybe I can ask one of these numskulls where he is.”

Ren began to walk through the crowded room, but found that most people were either too busy to notice his presence or looked so dead that Ren couldn’t tell if they were still alive or not underneath the piles of paperwork they had. Even the female detectives seemed to be more concerned on if they had enough coffee to keep them awake rather than him, which surprised Ren since it was a completely different reaction then what he had gotten outside of the main room. Ren had reached the middle of the room and saw two desks: one was vacant of an actual person, but still had an absurd amount of papers on it and the name plate read “Junior Detective Otoya Ittoki”, which peaked Ren’s interest, but then he looked at the other desk and saw a child-sized, blond guy with a coffee in one hand and a multiple-page document in the other, seemingly lost within his own thoughts. He had a couple of hairpins in his hair and had action figures that added to the mess that was his desk, along with a name plate that was mostly blocked by papers except for the words “Senior Detective”. While Ren was reluctant to talk to the man, he didn’t see anyone else that would be of help. But that didn’t mean Ren couldn’t have some fun either.

Ren smirked before slowly walking up behind the blond man’s chair. He bent down close to his ear and whispered, “Boo.” 

Ren had expected the man to freak out a bit, but he couldn’t have imagined the man jumping so high that he looked like he almost hit the ceiling and the coffee in his cup spilling on to the front of his brown pants and white, collared shirt, as well as a good portion of his workspace since coffee was dripping down the sides of his black, leather chair and on to the floor. Ren couldn’t help but to let out a small chuckle at the sight, which caught the attention of the frightened man. However, his fright soon turned to anger as he turned around and put himself in Ren’s face.

The blond-haired man yelled, “What’s the big idea, you jerk?! Could you not have scared the living daylights out of me?! Now I got coffee all over my workspace and my clothes!”

“Sorry, sorry. I came here to see someone, but I can’t find him. I just wanted to see what you knew, Shorty” Ren said nonchalantly. 

The short man’s face became red with anger. “Shorty! Did you just call me Shorty?! That’s it! I don’t care what you came here for, but now you are helping me clean this mess up!” He then proceeded to open one of his desk drawers and pulled out a couple rolls of paper towels before shoving one of them into Ren’s hands. “Start wiping off the floor, Mr.Laughs-A-Lot.” The blondie then went and started wiping off the edges of his desk and chair.

Ren took a glance between the paper towels and the mess of coffee on the ground and thought, ‘There is no way I’m cleaning that.’ However, one look from the blond man showed Ren that he was going to get worse than a scolding if he didn’t do it. Besides, Ren didn’t need the HA detectives to find out who he was because he didn’t clean up some coffee. He put his bag on a nearby desk and got on his knees to start cleaning up the mess. As he began to clean off the floor, Ren thought, ‘I can’t wait until I win this bet. When this is over, I will make sure these HA detectives pay for this.’

Ren had finished cleaning up about half the mess when the doors to the main room burst open, followed by someone yelling, “Syo-chan!”. When Ren looked up from where he was, he saw a tall man running towards the desk. When they both made eye contact, the tall man’s eyes widened for a second before going back to normal and turning to the shorter, blond man. “Syo! Why are you making a guest clean up coffee from the floor? That’s not very nice.”

Syo replied with, “He caused the mess, so I’m making him clean it. I don’t see what’s so wrong with that, Natsuki.”

“Well, Masato-kun still wouldn’t like you doing this to a guest, especially if this man is actually a client. Now, I’ll clean up this mess while you go to the locker room to put on some clean clothes. You should probably go soak those clothes in some water as well, before they get anymore stained” Natsuki said as he pushed Syo towards the main room entrance. 

Ren watched as Syo scowled, but reluctantly agreed and walked out of the main room. Natsuki then turned his attention back to Ren and reached his hand out towards him. “I’m sorry about this mess, Sir. I’ll clean the rest of it up” Natsuki said with a big smile on his face. 

“Thank you…Natsuki” Ren said, as he took Natsuki’s hand and stood back up. He dusted off his pants and picked up his bag before saying, “You mentioned Masato earlier. Would you happen to know where I can find him? He doesn’t seem to be in his office right now.” 

“Hmm…I believe he went on a short walk to get some air about half an hour ago. I would say he should be back any minute now.”

A few seconds later, the main room doors opened again and Masato walked in, dressed in a brown overcoat, a dark blue, button-up shirt and grey pants. Masato made eye contact with Ren and gave a small smile and bow, and then pointed towards his office. Ren returned the smile back and nodded before walking towards the office, stepping over the remainders of the coffee puddle on the floor. As he approached the door, he watched as Masato unlocked it and walked inside, turning on the lights and leaving the door open for him. Ren gladly took the invitation, walking in and lightly closing the door. 

Ren glanced around the room, taking note of the windows that were blocked by closed blinds and a few bonsai trees that decorated the office, along with a cute Piyo-chan plush that sat next to the bonsai on Masato’s desk. “Well, I must say you have a pretty nice office compared to those other detectives outside. But I guess that makes sense with you being the boss and all” Ren said.

Masato had hung up his coat and moved to sit down at his desk. “I just make do with what I have. Sometimes I wish I could be out there with my other detectives. I feel this office makes me seem more intimidating than I want to be.”

Ren let out a laugh and said, “Well, I don’t know about that. Besides, I think you got two pretty good intimidators already. That tall blonde and Shorty could probably make a suspect spill all of his or her information within a matter of minutes.”

Ren began to walk to Masato’s desk. He watched as Masato put his head in his hand before asking, “Please tell me you didn’t call him that.”

“I could, but then I would be lying to you, Masato-san. But I didn’t know that nickname would make him so angry. Next time I see him, I’ll try to make a better first impression.”

Masato sighed. “Well I guess, what’s done is done. He’ll get over it anyway. But please sit down, I’m sure you are tired of standing.”

Ren then decided to make his move. “Before I do that, I have something to give you.” He walked over to Masato’s desk and took the food container out of his bag, before placing it in front of Masato. “As promised, one meal from yours truly. I figured you would want something kind of light and traditional, so I picked this. I know you’ll enjoy it, Masato-san” Ren said as he leaned against Masato’s desk.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Masato stared at the food container that was placed in front of him. While he didn’t feel particularly hungry, he also didn’t want to be rude to Ren after he had went to all the trouble of making and bringing him food. Not to mention, it was probably due to his horrible eating, or lack of eating, habits that he didn’t feel hungry either, so eating something now would probably be good for him health-wise anyway. Masato carefully opened the container and was met with a sight he hadn’t seen since his father kicked him out. The container was split into 3 parts, with one holding a beautifully cut, grilled salmon that was still steaming, another part had gorgeously arranged, delicious-looking sushi platter and the smallest section held rice that had bits of seaweed spread across the top of it. On top of all the food was a pair of chopsticks that were covered with a paper towel on the lower half. He took the chopsticks out of the paper towel, and used them to pick up one piece of sushi. He placed it in his mouth and began to chew, savoring the flavors that hit his taste buds. The rice was warm and tasted slightly sour, but it complemented the flavor of the tuna, which had a bit of a spice on it, but was obviously seasoned to near perfection. Masato swallowed the food, amazed with the sensation that flowed through his mind. 

Masato thought, ‘If just this piece of the meal tasted so good, I can’t imagine how the rest will taste. But I feel bad that Suwabe-san is not eating anything.’

He looked up at Ren, who only smiled back at him. “Please go on and eat. I already ate something before I came here, and I rather enjoy watching you eat with such a happy expression on your face. I’ll just sit here and watch.” Ren then moved to one of Masato’s leather chairs and sat down, crossing his legs and gently placing his head on his hand, gazing sweetly at Masato.

Masato still felt bad, but his stomach growled loudly, wanting another piece of the delicious meal Ren had made. Blushing again, Masato said, “Thank you for the meal” before eating the rest of his meal, enjoying the rich taste of the salmon and rice and the rest of the delicious sushi. By the end, there was not even a piece of rice left in the container and Masato carefully placed his chopsticks in the container. He proceeded to wipe his mouth off with the paper towel, before turning his attention back to Ren.

“Suwabe-san, I must say that you are a fantastic cook. If anything happens to your current business, I would say you should open up your own restaurant. It would definitely be famous throughout the entire country.”

Ren chuckled a bit and replied with, “Thank you for the compliments, Masato-san. But I’m afraid that idea would not work, since I have only ever cooked this good for two people in my lifetime.”

Masato looked at him curiously and asked, “Well, who would they be? Because they are very lucky people to have you cook for them.”

“Well, one person would be myself. And the other…would be you, Masato-san.”

At this statement, Masato had to turn away, a blush now staining his entire face. “Please Suwabe-san. Those kind of comments would give people the wrong idea.”

“Not if I meant it in that kind of way, Masato-san.” Ren got up and leaned against Masato’s desk, placing one hand on the desk while using his left hand to turn Masato’s face towards him. “Please don’t ignore my feelings, Masato-san. I know you are probably still recovering from our last meeting, but I can’t help how I feel, and its more than just friendship between men.”

Masato placed his hands on Ren’s and gently pulled Ren’s hand from his face and just held it. “I understand, Suwabe-san. But we barely know each other. And while I believe you are a good person, I’m not sure if I’m ready to go into a relationship. Not to mention, I don’t even know if I am really interested in men in that kind of way.”

Entwining their hands together, Ren said, “But that is exactly why we should date. We can get to know each other and I promise I won’t do anything sexual until you are ready. But I want to show you who I am, and prove that what we have won’t be anything like what happened with Sumi-san. At our first meeting, I know you felt the spark that happened between us. I just ask that we date to get to know each other and see if that spark truly meant something. We won’t be an official couple, just two men trying to test the waters with each other. And if you find that you can’t bring yourself to love me, then I will respect that and we will remain friends. Just, please, give me a chance.”

Masato looked towards their connected hands and thought, ‘I don’t know if this is the right decision, but I do know that I want to get to know more about Suwabe-san. While I might not understand some of the feelings that I am feeling, maybe I can figure them out by staying by Suwabe-san’s side.’ Masato then smiled and looked into Ren’s eyes. “Well Suwabe-san, it seems that I will be in your care for a while. But I do want to take it slow, so no funny business. Understood?”

Masato saw a big grin appear on Ren’s face, before he was given a big hug. “I understand, Masato-san. You have made me the happiest man alive, and I promise I will do the same for you. Just you wait.” They were interrupted when the sound of phone began to resound through the office. Masato watched as Ren frowned a bit, before reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out his phone. Ren let him go as he began to talk into his cellphone, obviously slightly fighting with whoever was calling him. Ren then let out a sigh and said, “Alright. I’ll be back soon,” before hanging up. Ren then turned to Masato and said, “Sorry, Masato-san. Seems I need to return to work. I should head out now.” Ren then picked up the empty container and put it back in his bag.

“Of course, Suwabe-san. Please let me see you out” Masato said, gently pushing his chair back as he stood up.

“Thank you, Masato-san, but I don’t want to interrupt your work anymore than I already have. I’ll just ask one of your employees out there to send me off. Maybe that tall one with the glasses? I think they called him…Natsuki.”

“Oh, it is no bother, but if you insist, than by all means, I’ll get Natsuki to see you out.” Masato then got up and started walking to his office door. Just as he was about to open the door, he felt Ren tap him on his shoulder. Masato turned around and soon felt Ren’s lips connect with his right cheek. 

When Ren disconnected his lips from Masato’s cheek, he patted him on his chest pocket and said, “Thank you for the wonderful time, Masato. I hope to have another great time sometime soon.” Masato lightly blushed and touched his cheek with his hand, but nodded his head and opened the door so that Ren could leave.

Masato followed Ren out the door and yelled, “Natsuki! Can you escort Mr.Suwabe to the front doors, please?”

Natsuki nodded his head and headed to the front doors of the main room, with Ren following not far behind. Masato watched them from his office door until they had left the main room and was about to turn back into his office when he felt something in his chest pocket. Reaching inside, he pulled out the object to find a business card that had a phone number and the words “Call me” on it in black sharpie. Masato then thought, ‘Maybe this can actually work.’ 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ren and Natsuki walked down the 1st floor hallway in silence, occasionally smiling to workers that they passed. When they reached the lobby, which was completely empty save for some fake plants, a few chairs and a water dispenser, Ren suddenly stopped and grabbed a cup to pour some water into it. Once he filled the small, paper cup, he just stared ahead and watched the people pass by the windows of the small building. 

“So how’s work been going, Natsuki? Or can I actually call you Satsuki now?”

Natsuki’s expression changed drastically: his normally happy eyes turned cold as ice and his overall aura became much more dangerous than before as he slowly took off his fake glasses. If any of his co-workers would have seen him, they would all agree that he couldn’t be the Natsuki they knew, but an entirely different, almost unrecognizable person. In a deeper, but calm voice he said, “You may call me whatever you want, Boss. However, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. Was there some information that you felt I couldn’t get for you?”

“Oh nothing like that. I have some business between me and Reiji going on right now, and to complete it I need to get buddy-buddy with the HA boss. Believe me, once this deal of ours is over, I have no plans to ever be back in this place again. You can call Ichi later and ask him for any other details. But rest assured, your work as my mole into the HA has been as impeccable as always. However, I know you agreed to this job since it would also get you closer with your precious “Syo-chan”, but I suggest you keep him on a short leash before he really gets himself into trouble” Ren said, giving Satsuki a side glare.

Satsuki’s eyes widened. “Boss, please! Don’t do anything to him! I know he is short-tempered, but he couldn’t hurt our family. I deeply apologize for the disrespect he showed you, so please! Look over his mistake this one time.”

Ren just shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, Sa-chan. I gave you this job since you wanted to reunite with your love. Not to mention, you have been loyal to me for longer than you had even known that Shorty was here, so I promise I won’t hurt him as long as he doesn’t But I would suggest you tell him about your love soon. Seeing your one-sided love is so fucking hard to watch.”

Satsuki gave a bow and said, “Yes, Sir. I will try soon. I’m just trying to see if he will. But aside from that, is there anything you need me to do besides the normal stuff?”

Ren gave the question some thought and said, “Actually there is. If I remember from your last report, you said an “Otoya Ittoki” recently joined the HA. I need you to try and dig into his background some more. Apparently he has some interest in Ichi and for some reason the name is also reminding me of something, but I’m not sure what it is. So find out what you can. Understood?”

Satsuki put his arm across his chest and bowed before saying, “Yes, Boss. I’ll see if he's hiding anything.”

“Good.” Ren then gulped down the entire cup of water and threw it into the trash can. “I’ll be going now. Ichi is waiting for me. You should get back too, before your boss and future boyfriend suspect anything. And make sure to report to Ichi within the next couple of weeks.”

Satsuki nodded, before putting his glasses back on and turning back down the hallway of the HA building. Ren laughed a little as he could already see that Satsuki had reverted back to his “Natsuki” persona, who was nice to talk to, but not very effective as an SR Top Enforcer. But he was concerned for his SR family member, and did hope that his love for Shorty would be returned, even if the chances were low. 

‘Unfortunately, I don’t think the detective will accept him once he reveals who he really is. We live in different worlds and they will never be able to combine. Not in the past, and not now either’ thought Ren, causing a small frown to appear on his face. Ren then turned back towards the glass, sliding doors and walked out of the building, knowing his corruption of the HA would lead to its eventual downfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, how did you like that twist? I know, it might have been kinda predictable, but I have been planning that for awhile. The next chapter will actually deal with Reiji, Ranmaru, and Camus, but I may also include a little Ren in there if the chapter ends up being too short. However, there will be sexy time in the next chapter so I hope you guys are excited for the next one. It will take me about 2 to 3 weeks since the rest of this week I will be at an anime convention. As always, any comments, whether compliments or constructive criticism, are appreciated and thank you for reading!


	8. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiji ends up winning a bet with Ranmaru, and it leads to some sexy times for the both of them. But Ranmaru won't let him have get to the main event until he calls Camus about the kidnapping. Reiji relents, but he still wants to have some fun while working.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you didn't get it from the summary, this chapter is going to be mostly sex, more specifically between Reiji and Ranmaru. If you don't like male/male sex (which I'm gonna say most of you reading this are fine with it), then this chapter may not be to your liking. There is also a bit of cursing, but other than that, nothing much else in terms of what might offend anybody. This is the first time I have ever written anything sexual, and even more so with sex between males so I'm sorry if its unrealistic but I tried my best.

Saturday, August 19th, 2017; 6:00pm

Inside of the Quartet Warriors main headquarters in the Koto district, Ranmaru kicked the door to his and Reiji’s bedroom before walking inside, scowling and muttering under his breath. He said, “Cheap tricks…royal flush…stupid bet…” before kicking his brown leather boots into a corner, placing his Glock 19 on the table, lighting a cigarette and moving to sit on the king-sized bed, all while keeping his back to the door.

Not far behind, Reiji peeked his head into the room, watching his lover let out a puff of smoke while sitting on their soft, burgundy bed. He sighed and made his way into the room. Reiji slipped off his short-sleeved white hoodie and placed them on the nearby loveseat. After stepping out of his black sneakers, Reiji was left in a dark green tank top and dark grey, ripped jeans. He walked up to the bed and crawled on it towards Ranmaru. Once he was behind Ranmaru, he wrapped his arms around his neck to where Reiji’s arms rested on Ranmaru’s shoulder and his hands met at the end of the ‘V’ of Ranmaru’s slightly opened jacket. Rubbing circles into the exposed skin of Ranmaru’s chest, Reiji said, “Come on, Ran-ran. I won fair and square.”

“Tch. Fair and square my ass, Reiji! I don’t think winning 2 of 3 rounds with a full house followed by a royal flush sounds plausible, much less fair. I know you must have used some tricks so you could win and be on top first tonight.”

“Please, Ran-Ran! You have to believe me! I would never trick the person I love like that. It just seems that every cosmic being in the universe wants to see me fuck you first tonight.” Reiji nuzzled his face into the side of Ranmaru’s neck, while Ranmaru continued to focus on his smoke. Seeing that Ranmaru still refused to look at him, Reiji pouted and said, “Ran-Ran, please stop being mad with me. Besides, after I’m done, you can take me for the next round. Let’s not allow my good fortune to ruin the rest of the evening.”

Ranmaru’s tried to keep his resolve, but knew that Reiji would keep bugging him about it until he gave in, so he let out a sigh of defeat and stubbed out his cigarette on the bedside ashtray. “Fine. I’m a man of my word anyway. But, before we get to that business, how about you take care of that other business that I have been telling you to do all week.”

Reiji moved his gaze to a random spot on the wall away from Ranmaru. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Don’t give me that, Reiji! Call Camus right now so that sugar freak can get prepared to kidnap that prince in a couple weeks!”

“But, Ran-Ran! There’s still time before that prince shows up. Let’s not think about such serious stuff when we finally have some personal time to enjoy ourselves.” Reiji then turned his gaze back to Ranmaru and gently pulled Ranmaru’s face to the side so that he could looked into his magnificent, different-colored eyes. He then softly kissed Ranmaru on the lips, using his tongue to ask for entrance. It didn’t take long for Ranmaru to give in to Reiji’s advances, allowing Reiji tongue’s to invade his mouth and their tongues began a war for dominance. Ranmaru fully turned around to wrap his arms around Reiji’s waist and slowly lowered himself so his back laid fully against the mattress. The kiss turned more and more animalistic as their tongues wrapped around each other like snakes and were constantly pulled back and forth into different mouths in desperate attempts to dominate each other but soon both men needed air, forcing them to separate with only a single string of saliva keeping them connected. Reiji looked into Ranmaru’s eyes and saw the primal lust that laid within them. 

“As always, Ran-Ran, I rate you a 20 out of 10 on the kissing scale” Reiji said as he licked his lips.

Ranmaru took a few breaths before saying, “Just shut up and get back down here.” He then pulled Reiji back into another make-out session. 

Reiji moaned into the kiss and began to unzip the rest of Ranmaru’s grey bomber jacket, pushing it off of Ranmaru’s shoulders and arms once it was fully unzipped. As Reiji broke the kiss to throw the jacket off the bed, he admired the sight before him: Ranmaru’s chest moving up and down, sweat beginning to roll down his neck and under his shirt, and the beautiful green and burgundy flame, the sign for the Quartet Warriors, peeking from under Ranmaru’s maroon v-neck shirt from its place on Ranmaru’s right pectoral. Reiji purred in excitement and grinded his hips into Ranmaru’s, causing their slowly growing erections to collide and a growl to erupt from the silver-haired man. Reiji felt Ranmaru begin to push him into a sitting position, which confused him, until Ranmaru stripped himself of his shirt, revealing the tone abs and muscles that had protected Reiji on more than one occasion. He then gave Reiji’s shirt the same treatment so that they were both shirtless. Not being able to handle the sight of Ranmaru’s beautiful, bare chest anymore, Reiji attached his mouth to Ranmaru’s left nipple, sucking it before lightly biting, followed by a lick of apology. With his other hand, he used his fingers to trace around Ranmaru’s right nipple, up to his tattoo and back to circling the nipple again. Reiji could hear Ranmaru’s pleasured-filled pants until he felt Ranmaru’s mouth begin to suck the skin on his shoulder. Reiji moaned around Ranmaru’s nipple as he felt Ranmaru making hickeys on his left shoulder.

Switching nipple treatments, Reiji heard Ranmaru say “Stop being a tease…” before letting out a groan. Reiji then moaned as well when he felt Ranmaru’s nails dig into his back as they slowly made their way down his shoulders, over Reiji’s Quartet Warriors tattoo, which was placed in the center of his back, before reaching the back of his pants. Reiji felt really turned on when he felt Ranmaru reach into his back pockets, groping his ass like he was looking for something. He began to unzip Ranmaru’s faded black pants, when all of a sudden his iPhone 7 was placed right in front of his face.

“Call. Him. Now” said Ranmaru, who was panting heavily and sporting a big bulge in his slightly opened pants.

Reiji groaned, but nevertheless, grabbed the phone and began to dial Camus’s number. As he waited for Camus to pick up the phone, a grin suddenly appeared on Reiji’s face. “Ran-Ran~. Make sure to keep your voice down while I’m calling him, okay?”

“What the fuck do you- Ah!”

Ranmaru felt pleasure course through his body as Reiji had dipped his right hand into Ranmaru’s boxer’s and began to rub the tip of his cock. Ranmaru put his hand over his mouth and looked up at Reiji, who flashed him a wicked smile before putting the call on speaker and pulling Ranmaru’s cock out of his underwear.

After the fifth ring, a deep voice rang out from the other end. “Camus here. What is it you need?”

“Hi, Myu-chan! It’s Reiji!” 

Ranmaru could here Camus groan before saying, “What is it you want, Reiji? I’m surprised your boyfriend isn’t calling me. What, he doesn’t have the balls to challenge me anymore?” Ranmaru was about to let out a retort, but had to bite into his arm as Reiji lightly squeezed the base of his cock before moving further down to cup his balls. 

“No, no. Ran-Ran’s just,” after a quick scan of Ranmaru’s current state, Reiji said, “a little preoccupied at the moment. So I decided to call you personally.”

“Hmph. Whatever. Just tell me what job you have for me.”

Reiji used one hand to pull down Ranmaru’s pants and boxers, while the other went back to stroking Ranmaru’s cock. “Well, do you know that prince that’s supposed to be coming to town in a couple weeks?”

“You mean the idiot that’s been in the newspapers for the past month? How could I not?! It’s like this entire country is ready to worship this guy and he’s not even from here.”

Reiji let out a laugh as he finally got Ranmaru’s pants and boxers all the way off. “Well, I have a bet going on with Renyan, and I need you to kidnap the prince while I handle the ransom details. It’s a pretty big job, but I believe that you can handle it.”

There was a slight pause before Camus said, “Will I get my usual 18%?”

“Depending on how well everything goes, you could even get over 20%.” Reiji brought his hand back to Ranmaru’s cock and played with his slit, causing small whimpers of pleasure to escape from his muffled mouth.

“Deal. Should I assume this is a no-kill kind of mission?”

“Yes. We don’t need to have the international police on our asses. Once we get him and the money, I’ll make it to where neither of us gets caught. Besides, I’m sure the government will cover up what actually happened since they don’t want the amount of bad press they’ll get if they release the truth.” Reiji noticed that Ranmaru pre-cum was already coming out, and covered his right hand in it. 

“I’ll let you take care of those details. I’ll make sure I’m prepared on my end. Anything else you need?” The sounds of typing and paper shuffling filtered from Camus’s side of the call.

Reiji pushed one of his lubed fingers inside of Ranmaru, who was just barely able to hold back a moan. Reiji then remembered something as he began to thrust his finger within Ranmaru. “Actually, would you mind taking Ai-Ai with you? I want him to get out and see the world more.”

In a questioning tone, Camus asked, “Who the hell is Ai-Ai?!”

“Oh that’s right. You haven’t met him yet. You see, the last time me and Renyan made a bet, I won and my prize was a formerly top-secret government robot assassin project. I had some guys I know build him, with my own modifications included as well, and all their work gave me the artificially-intelligent robot who goes by Ai Mikaze, but I like calling him Ai-Ai. However, he seems to prefer watching people rather than being a killing machine. Now I’m all for being whoever you want, but he’s become such a recluse that I am honestly worried about his ‘health’. He has become such a neet recently, and I just can’t bear to see his potential be wasted on reading surveys and hacking into street cameras. I think working with you will get him to realize there is more to life than watching people and crunching numbers.” Seeing Ranmaru claw at the bedsheets and bite into a nearby pillow in a desperate need to keep quiet, Reiji’s grin grew wider and he pushed in a second finger. Reiji was very surprised that Ranmaru still refused to let out much of a sound, and just continued to thrust his fingers in and out of him, making sure to just barely brush Ranmaru’s sweet spot.

“Sure, whatever. As long as he is quiet and out of the way, I don’t mind. I don’t care if he’s human or a robot, I refuse to babysit, especially anyone incompetent.”

“Great! Thanks, Myu-chan!” It was then that Reiji decided to scissor his fingers inside Ranmaru, causing the silver-haired man to see stars and let out a loud, pleasure-filled moan.

Reiji heard the sound of a phone dropping from Camus’s end, followed by what must have been Camus fumbling to pick up the phone again. With obvious shock in his voice, Camus said, “Was that- Oh my god, you two are disgusting! How many times have I told you two to not call me when you’re both horny as hell! I’ll call you later if I need anything. And you both better be done when I do!” And just like that, the call ended.

Unable to hold back any longer, Ranmaru yelled out, “REIJI! STOP BEING A TEASE ALREADY AND FUCK ME!!”

“Ah, Ran-Ran. No need to yell. I just did what you asked me to. If you wanted me to fuck you, all you had to do was ask.” Reiji quickly unzipped his pants and pushed his pants and boxers completely off and threw them on the floor, revealing his own hard cock in all its glory. Taking his fingers out of Ranmaru, Reiji lined up his erection to Ranmaru’s quivering hole and pushed in, both males letting out a groan when Reiji finally pushed into the hilt. 

He had planned to wait to let Ranmaru adjust, but then Ranmaru moaned out, “Fuck yes…Reiji …I’m already close. Fucking move already!”

Reiji said, “With pleasure”, before he began thrusting inside of Ranmaru, slowly pulling out until only the tip remained inside, and then slamming back in, making sure to hit Ranmaru’s prostrate hard and right in the center. 

Ranmaru let out a scream of pleasure and it didn’t take long for him to finally cum, moaning out Reiji’s name as his cum coated his stomach and chest.

Reiji held still, waiting until Ranmaru came down from his high, although he wanted nothing more than to pummel into the tight walls that were milking his erection. Once Ranmaru seemed to have calmed down, Reiji said, “I hope you don’t think we are done, Ran-Ran” before beginning to thrust again, setting up a fast and hard pace that had Ranmaru screaming from the pleasure and sensitivity from his orgasm. Reiji put Ranmaru’s pale legs on his shoulder and pinned his hands on the bedsheets on either side of Ranmaru’s head as he thrusted even deeper into the man, causing both to scream from the ecstasy. “Fucking Ranmaru…your amazing…I’m so close.”

Between pants and thrusts, Ranmaru moaned out, “Oh fuck yes…Ah…don’t stop…I love you…you fucking…Ah…sexy…perverted idiot.”

Reiji said, “I love you too,” before he screamed out, “Ranmaru!” and thrusted in deep as his orgasm hit him. Reiji continued to thrust inside of Ranmaru until he finally released all his cum. Reiji slowly pulled out of Ranmaru, watching as his cum slowly dribbled out of Ranmaru and on to the bedsheets. 

Ranmaru growled as his renewed erection was being ignored. “Come on, Reiji. You can’t leave me like this. And you are not old enough yet to where one round is going to satisfy you.”

Reiji laughed a little as he finally calmed down from his own orgasm. “Of course, Ran-Ran. But I wanted to show you something.” Reiji then pushed Ranmaru to where he was sitting back against the oak headboard of the bed. 

Ranmaru let out a few breaths to try and control his urge to just pounce Reiji and fuck him into oblivion. “Well, what is it? My boner is killing me over here.”

Reiji gave Ranmaru a soft smile. “Proof that I didn’t cheat.”

“What kind of proof could you- Oh fuck!” Ranmaru didn’t even have a chance to prepare himself as Reiji lined himself with Ranmaru’s cock and went down on it until Ranmaru’s cock was fully seated inside him. Feeling those tight walls around him, Ranmaru did his best to keep some level of composure and said, “Reiji, what are you doing?! I haven’t prepared you yet. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Reiji chuckled. “You could never hurt me, Ran-Ran. As for what I’m doing, well, do you remember when you complained that I took too long in the bathroom after our first round of poker? That’s because I was in there preparing myself.” Reiji then cupped Ranmaru’s face and said, “I wanted your big,” while he kissed Ranmaru’s left cheek, “beautiful,” then his right cheek, “hard,” then Ranmaru’s lips, “cock in me as soon as possible. I wanted you to win so badly, but I would never lose on purpose. It’s against my nature. So, do you believe me now?” 

Ranmaru grinned and said, “With such compelling evidence, how could I not?”

Reiji’s face lit up with a big smile and he wrapped his arms around Ranmaru’s neck to hug him. “Thank you, Ran-Ran! I couldn’t stand it if you were still mad at me. Now,” Reiji smile turned into a sly grin as he leaned down to Ranmaru’s right ear and said, “take me long and hard, my Ranmaru.”

Without a second of hesitation, Ranmaru pinned Reiji to the mattress and held him down by his shoulders as he began to mercilessly thrust into Reiji. Every thrust made direct contact with Reiji’s prostrate, causing Reiji to see white and being unable to scream anything besides his lover’s name. Ranmaru felt Reiji tug hard on his silver hair, and this made him growl in pleasure as he continued to rapidly pummel Reiji’s hole. 

Reiji felt his erection coming back in full force and, in between thrusts, said, “Ranmaru…Ah…I’m…ugh…close…please…Ahh…let’s come…oh god…together!”

With lust and an animal-like look in his eyes, Ranmaru only nodded as he somehow began to pump in and out of Reiji even faster than before. Soon the only sounds in the room were grunts, moans, and the creaking of the bed as it did its best to handle the love making of the two passionate lovers. However, after some time had passed, as well as a good amount of thrusts into Reiji’s prostate and Reiji’s walls clamping down on Ranmaru’s cock, they both screamed each other’s names simultaneously as they came. Reiji moaned even more as he felt Ranmaru’s cum filling and washing him from the inside. He let out a whimper as he felt Ranmaru remove himself from inside of him, some of Ranmaru’s cum leaking from Reiji’s asshole. Ranmaru then collapsed on his chest next to Reiji, still trying to come down from the high amount of pleasure he received. Once both were able to control their breathing, Ranmaru moved on to his side so he could face Reiji, before pulling Reiji into his chest. 

Reiji happily complied, nuzzling his face into Ranmaru’s pectorals and wrapping his arms around Ranmaru’s waist. Reiji then quietly said, “My Ranmaru. All mine.”

Ranmaru rubbed Reiji’s back and said, “Yeah, I’m yours. And your mine, right?”

“I only know one person who could drill my hole the way I like it.”

Ranmaru slightly tightened his grasp on Reiji and growled out, “I’d better be the only person who knows.”

“Of course. There is no way it could be anyone, but my precious Ran-Ran.” Reiji paused before somberly saying, “You’ll never leave me, right Ranmaru?”

Ranmaru frowned slightly, but kissed Reiji on top of his hair and brought him into a gentle, but warm embrace. “I will always have your back, love. I will do whatever it takes to always be by your side. Nothing can change that.”

Reiji let out a sigh of relief and rubbed circles into Ranmaru’s stomach. “Ran-Ran always knows what to say. So…” Reiji looked up at Ranmaru with a big, goofy grin, “what do you say about another round?”

“Hmph, I’m ready whenever you are. Hopefully your 27-year-old ass can handle it.”

“You’re only 2 years younger than me Ran-Ran! I’m not that old.”

Ranmaru grinned. “Then how about you prove it.”

The sounds of their lovemaking continued throughout the night and, by the time they had finally stopped, the sunlight had already come out to start a new day and Reiji’s cell phone had 2 missed calls on it. The caller ID for both was a certain blond-haired, sugar-loving, and only slightly-irritated hitman-for-hire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was fun to write. While this was my first time writing this kind of material, I really tried to get out of my comfort zone and push myself while writing this. Honestly, I found it pretty fun to write about this and it taught me alot of pronoun changing and when to put in names in certain places. As always, I would love to hear any comments you guys have on this chapter and/or on the overall story so far. Sorry this came out later than I said, but the next one will probably be up in a little over a week so look forward to that. Thank you for reading!


	9. Returning the Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tokiya finally arranges his training session with Otoya. When its over, Tokiya must go to an SR meeting that Ren is holding to inform the family of the deal between him and Reiji. But what happens when an upstart in the group decides to interrupt him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I want to apologize for how long it has taken me to release this chapter. I wanted to release it sooner, but realized that it was gonna be a pretty short chapter if I only did the Tokiya and Otoya stuff so then I decided to include the SR meeting, but then that meant it was taking me longer to write and edit it. Not to mention that I had a bit of writer's block when trying to make sure everything made sense. Also, I can't lie: the UtaPri app also has been distracting me alot, but I finally was able to finish the chapter. Good news is that I'll hopefully be releasing the next chapter in a week or two. However, at the end of the month I start grad school, so chapter releases are probably gonna be once a month if there are no long holiday breaks during the month. I don't want to spoil what happens in the chapter, but there will be cursing, fighting and blood so take that for what you will. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Thursday, August 24th, 2017 11:30am

Tokiya wiped sweat from his forehead as he stood underneath the awning of Toshio’s Mixed Martial Arts gym. Unbeknownst to most of the gym members, Tokiya was actually the owner of the gym. He had convinced Ren that the block was a good commercial area and a business there could make the family some decent money if it was managed correctly. Ren agreed and said he would buy the entire block, with the condition that Tokiya would take charge of said business and would manage the ‘payment’ collections from the other stores on the block. Tokiya agreed and made the gym so that the younger SR family members could work there to make some decent cash and have a good place to hone their combat skills. Not to mention that having the younger kids run the place gave Tokiya more time to get SR-related work done, while still being a good place to go to when he needed to clear his head. 

He had arrived 15 minutes beforehand, hoping that Otoya would have also had the courtesy to show up early but it was already 11:30 and there was no sign of the red-headed idiot. He let out an impatient sigh as he tapped his white and purple sneakers on the pavement and leaned against the gym’s windows, watching as other people passed him by. ‘Where is that red-headed detective? I had to go through all the trouble of having to call the HA just to contact him and schedule a time to meet and he’s still shows up late.’ 

Tokiya felt a bead of sweat roll down his face, which he quickly wiped away with his navy shirt. He reached into his gym bag, which was hanging from his shoulder, and grabbed his water bottle to take a small sip of water. A few minutes passed before he heard someone shouting his fake last name from his left. He looked in that direction and saw the red-headed detective that had somehow convinced him to teach him some fighting moves. “Miyano-san! Good morning!” Otoya said as he came face-to-face with Tokiya, panting slightly and holding onto a small, red duffel bag in his left hand. 

“It would have been a good morning if you had been on time” Tokiya said in an agitated tone.

Otoya smiled sheepishly and said, “Sorry, I stayed up kind of late last night since today’s my day off. And then I ended up sleeping through my alarm. But I was only off by a few minutes.”

“My time is important, Ittoki-san. I don’t like wasting it. Besides that, I only have a few hours to spare before I have to meet up with my boss for a crucial meeting in Edogawa at 4:30. That means at least a 15 minute drive back to Shinjuku before a 30 minute drive to Edogawa. So, if you want me to help you, I suggest we get started immediately” Tokiya said before pushing the door to get inside the gym. 

As he stepped inside, the smell of sweat was evident in the air and there was a few guys already inside. Two men were pounding away at punching bags while two other men were sparring on a blue foam mat. There was also a young man at the counter, who quickly bowed upon noticing Tokiya. Tokiya gave a half-hearted wave in response as he and Otoya took off their shoes and put them away in the nearby cubbies. Then Tokiya and Otoya made their way to the other side of the gym where the other blue mat was and placed their bags on the nearby bench. As they began to stretch, Otoya decided to do some small talk. 

“So what do you do for work, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

Tokiya gave Otoya a suspicious look, but curtly replied with, “I work in a small insurance company in Shinjuku. Nothing special.”

“But that’s still cool! I was never super good at math so I’m always impressed with people who can handle all that complicated stuff. Does anything interesting happen at work?”

Cracking his neck on both sides, Tokiya said, “Not really. Just a couple unruly customers, but not much else. What about you?”

“Oh, well it was pretty normal at the office. Luckily, there were no more robberies like what we had to go through and we are working hard to try and get more SR and QW members off the streets.” Tokiya hid a scowl behind his stretched-out arm as Otoya continued. “Although there was this one guy that came rushing into the office a couple of days ago. His name was Sumi or something.” Tokiya became slightly intrigued by the name, but did his best to not let it show. 

Being oblivious to Tokiya’s changing emotions, Otoya continued. “He claimed that the Shining Rebels had put a hit on him. We weren’t sure if we could believe him, especially since he had all the signs of someone on drugs or alcohol: blood-shot eyes, acting disoriented and his clothes and skin just looked extremely dirty and messed up. Just in case, we put him into one of the interrogation rooms to try and calm him down. Then Natsuki-senpai told me to get the man some water to calm down while he went in to talk to guy.” Otoya reached down to touch his toes and stretch out his legs. “It took me awhile since I had to wait for the water to get refilled, but I was finally able to get some water. Just when I was about to enter the interrogation room, the man bursts out of the interrogation room, almost hitting me in the face and causing me to spill water all over my clothes. I then watched as he sprinted out of the office, with Natsuki-senpai walking out of the interrogation room. When I asked Natsuki-senpai what happened, he said that it turned out the guy was drunk and when he asked how much he had to drink, the man got angry and stormed out of the office. I suggested we should find him, but senpai said not to bother unless the guy returned, then we could arrest him for disturbing the peace. Overall, it was definitely a weird experience, but I guess you can never expect a drunk guy to come into the office to act crazy.”

“Hmm…I guess so” Tokiya said with a disinterested tone. Tokiya then moved to his bag to put on his gloves and thought, ‘So that’s how Satsuki found out about his location.’ Once his gloves were on, Tokiya turned back to Otoya and said, “Alright. We’ve wasted enough time on trivial chitchat and stretching. Let’s get this training session started.” Tokiya watched as Otoya gave an enthusiastic nod and quickly put on his gloves before joining Tokiya at the center of the mat. Getting into his stance, Tokiya said, “Alright Ittoki-san. Show me what you got.” 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tokiya moved his left arm up to block Otoya’s right hook, and then quickly moved back to avoid the following uppercut. Otoya took his chance and closed the distance between them to deliver a side kick to Tokiya’s side. The kick landed successfully and disoriented Tokiya, which gave Otoya the opportunity to go for his finishing move. Otoya grabbed Tokiya’s right arm and moved his back to where it was almost touching Tokiya’s chest. He then used all his force in order to fling Tokiya over his shoulder and slam him into the mat. For a few moments, the only sounds were Otoya’s heavy breathing before his eyes lit up and he yelled, “Yes! I did it!”

Tokiya let out a chuckle and said, “Good job, Ittoki-san. That was almost perfect. However, you did make one mistake.”

“Ehhh, what did I do wrong?”

“The best way would be to show you.” Tokiya stood up moved behind Otoya, placing his arm on Otoya’s shoulder. “Grab my arm like you did before.” Otoya nodded, and placed one of his hands close to the middle of Tokiya’s bicep and the other around and between Tokiya’s bicep and shoulder. “This grip is not as strong as it could be. The best grip would be if your right hand was closer to my shoulder and your left hand was placed more towards the end of my bicep. The grip is also the most likely cause for that slight hesitation when you were about to throw me. If you were going against a more trained adversary, that moment of hesitation…” Tokiya pushed his knees forward to make Otoya become unbalanced, and then used his left arm to put Otoya in a chokehold. Otoya moved his arms to try and break free, but then Tokiya used his newly-freed right arm to grab Otoya’s right arm and twist it behind his back. He then loosened his chokehold and said, “…would lead to your loss. Understand?” 

Otoya nodded. “Yeah that makes sense. I guess I still have some work to do.”

Tokiya released Otoya from his arms and gave him a small pat on the back. “You are better than I expected. With your level of skill, you will definitely be a skilled fighter in the future.” Tokiya then walked to where his bag was and looked through it before pulling out his phone. Checking the time, Tokiya said, “And now I believe that is all the time I have. I need to get ready to go to the meeting.”

Otoya was confused and moved to see the time display on Tokiya’s phone. He then yelled, “What the heck?! It’s been almost 3 hours! Time sure does fly by when you’re having fun.”

“I wouldn’t called punching and throwing each other fun, but the time did indeed fly by. So I suggest we hit the showers. I prefer to not smell like I came out of a sweat shop.” Tokiya then grabbed his things and started heading to the shower room, Otoya following not far behind. Upon entering the shower room, Tokiya saw it was empty, including both the public shower area and the private stalls. He then moved to one of the open lockers and after taking out his change of clothes, a couple of towels and the shirt he had borrowed from Otoya, he put his bag inside. He then turned to Otoya, who was already stripping himself of his shirt, and said, “Ittoki-san, here’s your shirt back.”

“Ah! Thank you Miyano-san!” Upon closer inspection, Otoya exclaimed, “You even ironed it! Amazing! It looks better than when I bought it!”

“I only felt obligated since you did lend me the shirt out of good will. Washing it was no trouble at all.” After handing the shirt over, Tokiya said, “I will be using one of the private stalls. If I take too long, don’t worry about leaving first.”

“O-oh, right. I remember said you don’t like people watching you change so it makes sense that public showers are out of the question. But don’t worry about me. Take as long as you need.”

Tokiya gave a small nod as he locked his locker and went for the first open stall. Locking the door behind him, he began to strip himself of his clothing. Once he heard the sound of another shower turning on, Tokiya proceeded from the small sitting area in the private stall into his shower, purposely going slower than usual in hopes that Otoya would be gone by the time he got out. 

After what felt like forever, Tokiya finally turned off the shower, stepped out of it and dried off his legs with one towel while putting another towel around his shoulders to catch the water droplets that were falling from his hair. After he finished his legs, he put on his boxers and pants and checked outside his stall and saw no sign of Otoya; even his locker was cleared out. Letting out a sigh of relief, Tokiya got out of the stall and finished getting ready by drying off the rest of his body and putting on his dark purple undershirt and grey blazer, tucking both underneath his black pants before putting on his belt. Lightly brushing his blazer, he stepped out of the locker room and headed towards the front entrance, where he was surprised to see Otoya leaning against the counter.

When Otoya noticed him, he blushed and sporadically said, “H-Hi, Miyano-san. You look pretty cool…not that you didn’t look cool before! But…um…well…that’s a really nice shirt you have on.”

Tokiya gave Otoya a strange look, but said, “Well, um…thanks, I guess. I thought you had already left.”

“Oh, I just thought that you might feel uncomfortable if I was still in there when you decided to walk out of the shower, especially if you had not finished getting dressed. I thought it would just be better to wait out here until you were done.”

“Well, I appreciate your consideration. I also hope the training session made up for me using your shirt.”

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Otoya moved his gaze to his feet. “I really had a lot of fun in today’s lesson and I really think I learned a lot. I was hoping that…maybe we could keep having lessons. At least for a little longer.”

Tokiya sighed. “Look, I’m actually a busy man. And you are talented enough that you’ll figure out how to fight more effectively in due time. I just wanted to repay a debt I owed. I doubt I can train you very efficiently.”

“Please, Miyano-san!! I’m not asking you to miss work or anything. Just, when you have some free time and aren’t doing anything, just give me a short lesson. It doesn’t even need to be as long as today’s lesson. I could even pay you!”

“Ittoki-san, I know you are a detective, so you can’t have that much money to pay me.”

“Well…even if I can’t pay you with cash, I can give you a good meal after each lesson. We can either go to a restaurant and I’ll pay for both our meals. Or we can go to my house and I’ll whip up something for the both of us. Please I’ll do anything!!”

Tokiya was getting irritated by Otoya’s persistence, but still gave the offer some thought. ‘While I don’t like the idea of having anything to do with this HA detective, this isn’t a horrible deal. I get a good chance to work out my stress and a decent meal, and it’s all for free. Not to mention that this detective is such a chatterbox that I might actually get some useful information from him.’

Having all this in mind, Tokiya said, “Fine. I’ll agree to this deal. But you better be prepared. I’ll be going much harder on you from now on.”

Otoya jumped for joy and yelled, “Thank you so much!” He then grabbed a sheet of paper from his bag and handed it to Tokiya. “Here’s my number so that you can contact me. Just text me and I’ll get your number that way. I’ll let you know when I have free time and then we can pick up a good time based on your schedule. I’m sorry for keeping you here for so long. I hope you have a good meeting with your boss!” And with that, Otoya raced out the door, with a big grin on his face.

Tokiya let out a groan. “How do I keep letting that idiot have his way?” Putting it out of his mind, Tokiya looked at his phone to check the time. “Well now I have half an hour to pick up Ren. I better hurry up.” Tokiya then pulled out his sunglasses from his bag and put them on as he walked out of the gym.

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A silver Hyundai SUV with black, tinted windows pulled up to a seemingly-abandoned warehouse located near the docks of the Edogawa district. After parking properly, both the driver and front passenger doors opened almost simultaneously. Ren stepped out from the passenger door to reveal his outfit of a brown vest, a red and black checkered tie, a white, collared undershirt, a black suit blazer and pants and a thin black coat that he wore on his shoulders like a cape. Closing the door behind him, he began walking to the warehouse doors, Tokiya falling closely behind after grabbing a silver, metal suitcase and locking the car. When Ren reached the shutter door of the warehouse, he knocked twice and paused, before knocking two more times followed by a slight kick. The warehouse doors then opened, giving both Ren and Tokiya access to the inside of the warehouse. 

They both walked in and the sight before them brought a small smirk to Ren’s lips: hundreds of men and women were gathered together, all of them wearing orange, SR bandanas on either their right or left arms. Upon their entry, the bustling and chatting of the other gang members became silent as they turned their attention to the pair and bowed. The crowd then split to give Ren and Tokiya a straight path to a makeshift stage that laid further into the warehouse. There were already two individuals on the stage that Ren recognized as his two top Enforcers. The one who stood closer to the left edge of the stage was Satsuki Shinomiya, who was decked out in a grey tank top, black pants and black boots, along with two silver-studded belts on his hips. And next to him was a pink-haired man, who wore a hot pink button-up shirt with a dark brown vest and a long, white skirt that matched his 3-inch heels, named Ringo Tsukimiya. Ren and Tokiya wasted no time and made their way to the stage, with Tokiya taking his place next to Ringo while Ren made his way to the center of the stage. 

Ren then threw his fist in the air and loudly said, “I will always outshine those in my way and rebel against those who try to stop me! I swear this upon my blood and soul, so let me hear those who agree!” Not even a moment later, the warehouse was filled with the raucous applause and excited yells from the majority of the crowd. Soon enough, the crowd calmed down once again, giving Ren a chance to speak once again. “Thank you, my SR brothers and sisters. It has been quite a while since I’ve been able to see everyone together like this. However, even still it saddens me that not all of our family could make it here. And that…is due to the HA meddling in our affairs.”

A chorus of boos and angry yells echoed throughout the warehouse. Ren allowed it to go for awhile before using his hand to signal them to calm down. Once the warehouse was quiet again, Ren continued, “But that is why I have brought you all here. I have a plan in motion that could very well destroy the HA from the inside out. And when that happens, we will be there to stand on the ruins of their agency and show them that they can’t snuff us out by picking us off one by one!” Once again, the energy of the warehouse came back to life as the gang members yelled ecstatically and applauded. Ren motioned them to be silent again and said, “Alright, alright you rebels. I know you are all excited to hear my plan. So let’s get down to business.”

“That is exactly what I was about to say.”

Ren turned to his left to find the source of the voice, only to see a thin-looking man, who could not have been more than 17 years old, with spiked red hair and several tattoos on his left arm stepping foot on to the stage. Most noticeably was that neither of his arms had any sign of an orange bandana or any kind of SR symbol. Scowling slightly, Ren said, “As much as I admire your bravado kid, I think it would be better for you to get off my stage and go back to listening with the rest of the family. Maybe then you’ll learn that you shouldn’t try to step foot on my stage without any sort of sign of respect for me or this family.”

In a snarky tone, the man said, “The name’s Tomo and I’m no kid! But go ahead. Keep talking like you still own the place. You won’t be for much longer.”

Without hiding his anger, Ren said, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me! You think all of us are ignorant to what you do behind the scenes. Well, me and my crew aren’t.” The man then pointed to a small group in the crowd who then made their way towards the front to show their support for their renegade leader. Tomo then turned to the crowd and yelled, “Listen up, everyone. Because I got news for all of you. Me and those in my group have witnessed quite a few things that should be of interest. First, we got Shinomiya over there.” Tomo then pointed to Satsuki before continuing, “Despite his cold attitude towards most people in the gang, my boys have witnessed him hanging out at the HA. Not only does he work with the HA to catch members of our family, but he also is getting all chummy with them and acts like a completely different person.”

Ren could see Satsuki’s anger begin to spike from the corner of his eye, but signaled for the man to relax. In a calm voice, Ren replied with, “Well, Tomo. You obviously are somewhat new around here, otherwise you would have already known that Shinomi has been working as my mole into the HA for sometime now. In fact, his infiltration of the agency has been a major factor in getting many of our sisters and brothers from getting convicted due to him tampering with evidence and leaking important information on many of busts that the HA plan. Not to mention that he helps the agency lock up any idiots that think about messing with our turf or are just being a nuisance to society. So him being in good standing with the HA detectives is very imperative. And neither you nor I have any control as to how he feels and treats people in or out of the gang.” 

At this, Tomo seemed slightly taken aback, but still managed to get a cocky grin on his face. Pointing at Tokiya, he said, “W-Well, then what about your right-hand man, Ichinose? I heard from one of the new recruits working at his gym that he was doing combat training with some red-haired dork earlier today. And rumor has it that he is one of the HA detective that is working hard in getting many of us off the street. You have an explanation for that?!”

Tokiya could feel the eyes of the gang on him and moved to speak, but silenced himself when Ren gave him the “I got you covered” look.

“Ichi actually happened to get into an… “incident” with that particular detective. Since that detective is new, I asked Ichi to try and get close with him to see if we can exploit him somehow. The combat training was actually Ichi learning more about how the detectives fight and figuring out ways to counter their attacks so that we can use it against them. I don’t see how Ichi’s interactions with the red-head will be anything but helpful to the family. So…what’s the next card you want to play? You gonna accuse Ringo of something? And if you say he tricked you because you thought he was a woman, I suggest you stop before making a bigger fool of yourself than you already have.” Laughter rang out through the warehouse while Ringo simply flipped his long hair back and smiled contently. Ren could see that Tomo was beginning to sweat and his confidence had taken quite a blow, yet the boy still had a spark in his eyes that showed he wasn’t done yet.

“Then what about you, Jinguji?” Tomo glared at him furiously. “Explain why some of my crew watched as you waltzed yourself into the HA with some kind of offering in hand? Explain why you were seen trying to seduce the HA boss at a speed dating shop? Even better, why don’t you try and explain why there are rumors going around that you saved the HA boss when he had a near-death experience?” Tomo’s smirk returned in full as whispers and murmurs began to circulate throughout the crowd.

Ren let out a sigh and placed his hands in his pant’s pockets. “Wow, kid. I didn’t know your little crew was full of stalkers. But I’ll play your game. It was the main reason why I called the meeting in the first place.” Ren then turned to the rest of his gang, feeling their eyes watching his every move. “My family, I can’t deny that everything Tomo said was true. I currently have a bet going on with Kotobuki from the Quartet Warriors. My side of the deal requires me to set my sights on making the HA boss my next conquest. As such, I must admit that I have indeed been talking to and attempting to seduce him.”

The whispering intensified and it was obvious that this news wasn’t exactly what the family expected or wanted to hear, which pleased Tomo greatly. Wanting to turn the tide of the fight, Tomo yelled, “Oh, so you plan on telling the HA boss all our secrets for pillow talk?!” 

“Now see, that’s where you are wrong Tomo-kun. As leader, I always look at the bigger picture, and more importantly, what the long term benefits would be for the gang. To answer your first question, I walked into the HA agency because that blue-haired bastard let me.” With a smirk, Ren said, “Do you get that? He already trusts me enough to where I can walk into his little fort of justice like it was nothing. And it was all due to both my clever seduction and the fact that I did save his life, like you mentioned. And I have not, nor will I ever, give that justice-seeking pain in the ass any information that could harm this family.” 

Tomo scoffed. “I still don’t see how this benefits the gang at all? It sounds more like your fooling around.”

Ren couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh. “You really don’t get it. Fine, let me explain this as simple as I can. To complete my end of the deal, I had to seduce the HA boss. In order to do that, it is necessary that I gain his full trust and fill his heart with love. When I complete my deal with the Quartet Warriors, not only will I fling the HA boss to the curb like the trash he is, but I will also secure more fire-arms, ammunition and a good supply of that new drug, Pulse. Doesn’t that sound good?” Ren looked around the room and saw that most of the SR gang members’ eyes were glowing at the prospect of the new drugs and weapons they would get. 

“So what? Maybe we’ll get all that stuff, but it was a bet right? You could still lose. Not to mention that when you ditch the HA boss, we’ll all have an even bigger target on our heads then before. Even more so on you, since he’ll know what you look like. It would have been better if you had just left him to die.”

“Seriously kid? I love your enthusiasm, but you are dumber than a pile of rocks. If he had died, not only would I have lost the bet, but then the government would have covered it up by saying we did it and then we would be wiped out without any hesitation. And furthermore…” Ren proceeded to get right into Tomo’s face. With a dangerous tone, Ren said, “Nobody. Touches. My. Prey. You got it. I will be the one to fill his heart with love and affection, to the point where he can’t live without me. When that happens, I will make sure he watches as I rip his heart apart, right in front of him, making sure that every shred breaks his mental state until he is a shell of his former self. I’ll enjoy every last minute of it as I collect the goods for everyone in the family. Do you see my plan now?” Ren’s began to take some menacing steps forward, causing Tomo to take slow steps back so that Ren wasn’t right on top of him. “With Satsuki messing with things internally, Tokiya finding the HA’s weak points and with me attacking the brains and heart of the operation, the HA will soon cease to exist and the family will be free to take back what is rightfully ours!” At that statement, Ren grinned as he was reminded of something. “Actually I have the perfect thing that will emphasize my point. Is Yuri around?” 

A hand from the middle of the crowd shot up in the air. The crowd parted ways to let Yuri, an average-looking, black-haired male with glasses, through and onto the stage, with a small black duffel bag in his hand. He gracefully bowed to Ren and presented him with the bag. Ren took the bag from Yuri’s hands and unzipped it halfway, sadistically smiling upon seeing the contents inside. “Ladies and gentlemen, I want to make something very clear. I have my eyes set on the HA boss’s ass because it will reap the gang many, many benefits. However, I don’t want any interference from anyone in this affair. Someone already tried that. In fact, he was the one that almost killed my target. And look what happened to him.” Ren fully opened up the bag and dumped out his contents, which included the bloody, disfigured head of Sumi. The head ended up rolling off the stage and towards the crowd, causing many of the members to back up and some to even scream. Ren light blue eyes became filled with amusement and shined with a dangerous glint. “So let this be a lesson to everyone. No one will touch what I claim is mine. I shouldn’t have to explain the consequences any further.” Turning to Yuri, Ren asked, “By the way, Yuri. How did you find this piece of trash?”

“Shinomiya-san passed on a message to Ichinose-san that the man you wanted dead was in the Shinjuku area. Ichinose-san then informed all SR members in the Shinjuku area of this and ordered that we were to find and torture him, before bringing you proof of death.” Yuri said in a monotonous voice.

“I’m glad you are honest about your sources. And I believe that more than proves Shinomi and Ichi’s loyalty to family. Thank you, Yuri-kun.” Ren also bent down and whispered in his ear, “I also like your style and work method. You have earned your reward, as well as even more money in the future.” Turning to Tokiya, Ren said, “Ichi, give this man his money.” Tokiya nodded and handed Yuri the suitcase, which was filled with 50,000 yen. Yuri graciously took the suitcase, giving Ren one more deep bow before moving off the stage and back into the crowd.

Ren turned his full attention back to Tomo, who had taken a few steps back and his face looked pale and sickly. Tomo’s so-called crew had also slowly dissipated, blending back in with the rest of the SR gang. Ren took a few deep breaths and slowly regained his composure. Pushing his hair back, Ren said, “Now that you seem to understand, how about you go back down and listen with everyone else so I can finish the meeting and we can all go home. I’ll forgive this little transgression of yours, since I’m not one for killing family and I do like your spunk. Now,” Ren patted the man on the back, “get going.”

Ren turned his back to the man, and had only taken a few steps towards the stage when he heard Tomo whisper something that had him stop dead in his tracks. 

“I’m sorry. I think I misheard you. Did you say something?” asked Ren, hoping that he did not hear what he thought he did. Except Ren, everyone else’s eyes were firmly placed on Tomo’s thin and slightly quaking form.

Tomo refused to make eye contact and nervously said, “T-Top Dog. I challenge your authority with a Top Dog challenge.”

The rest of the gang members were shocked, some even letting out gasps. Ren immediately turned back around and forced Tomo’s face up so that they made eye contact. Without any sort of kindness in his voice, Ren said, “You know that I can’t back down now. If I win, you are gonna die, kid.”

“W-Well then I w-w-won’t lose.”

Ren couldn’t hide his frown, but nevertheless turned to Tokiya. “Ichinose, give him one of your guns to use.”

Tokiya, taking note of the seriousness in Ren’s voice, nodded quickly and unholstered his gun before walking over to the two men. Ren took his gun out from the inside of his jacket and handed it to Tokiya. Tokiya checked both guns to make sure each gun had a full round of 6 bullets. Once he finished, he gave Ren gun back to him and handed Tomo his gun. Tokiya then turned his attention back to the rest of the gang members. “A Top Dog challenge has been issued. The normal rules apply. Each gun has 6 bullets. Both men will stand at the center of the stage with their backs facing each other. Then each of them will take 3 steps forward. More steps may be taken, but you may start shooting once you have each taken 3 steps forward. You may only aim at each other and aiming at anyone else will mean automatic loss. If both of you are still alive by the end, whoever has the least amount of damage will be deemed the winner. It is then up to the loser whether he will take an honorable death or make his opponent mercy kill him. The witnesses for this challenge will be the entire gang, and as such, all in attendance will accept that whoever the winner is will be the leader of the Shining Rebels. As such, no one may interfere once the challenge starts. Does everyone here agree to abide by this rule? If not, leave now.” The warehouse remained quiet and no one made any move to leave. “Good. Then do both participants understand?” Both Ren and Tomo nodded. “Then please go to the center of the stage.”

Both Ren and Tomo moved to the center of the stage, their backs facing each other. Tokiya then said, “When you are ready, you may begin. Remember, you can’t shoot until you have taken three steps forward.” Both nodded and, in a few moments, they simultaneously took their first steps. The warehouse was so silent that their steps sounded like gongs as they moved to their second steps. The second that their third steps were taken, both men turned around fast and began to shoot at each other. Tomo shot off two bullets, which both ending up flying past either side of Ren’s head. Ren remained unfazed, aimed his gun and shot once. The bullet flew through the air before hitting Tomo square in the forehead, causing the man to be killed instantly and his body to crumble onto the stage. The entire warehouse was eerily quiet for what felt like hours before Tokiya checked to make sure Tomo was really dead. Once he confirmed it, Tokiya announced, “Tomo is dead with one shot to the head. The winner and leader of the Shining Rebels is Ren Jinguji!” The warehouse was then filled with cheers and people chanting Ren’s name. Ren adjusted his shirt and waved back to the crowd. 

“Thank you for all the support. Although, I can’t say that I’m happy to see such a promising kid be cut down so soon. But what’s done is done. Satsuki!” Ren turned to meet Satsuki’s cold, indifferent stare. “Make sure to make the kid’s death looks like an accident and then put him in a place where he will be found.”

“Yes, boss. And what about…that?” Satsuki then pointed to Sumi’s head that was still on the floor.

Ren gave it a few moments of thought before he smirked. “Well, I heard that sharks have been seen in the ocean recently. Why don’t you give them a snack?”

“Understood, Sir.”

“Very good. Now does anyone else have anything to say?” The warehouse was silent. “Good. Then this meeting is over. I asked Ringo to bring some drinks to lighten the mood. There should be 20 or more crates of it against the back wall of the warehouse. There’s plenty enough for everyone, so take some and return to your homes.” Everyone cheered and ran for the crates as Ren made his way off the stage and out of the warehouse, with Tokiya, Satsuki and Ringo following not far behind. 

Once outside, Ringo caught up to Ren and cutely said, “Ren~, you haven’t been by the bar lately. My girls and boys miss you a lot. After all, you are one of our best customers. Will you be coming by soon?”

Ren shrugged his shoulders in response. “I don’t know exactly when, but I definitely will be coming to see everyone. Unfortunately though, I will more than likely have company.”

Ringo sighed. “Awww, I was afraid of that. Well, I’m sure that will disappoint my employees, but they’ll be just as happy being able to see you.”

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want to disappoint them too much. Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind, let Hyuga know I need to meet him sometime early next week. I need advice in a…private matter.”

“You got it, Ren! I’ll let my Ryuya know right away!”

Ren smiled courteously. “Thanks, Ringo. Now, how about you and Satsuki go back in there and make sure no one does anything stupid with all that alcohol.”

Satsuki then stepped in. “If you wouldn’t mind boss, I would rather just dispose of the bodies and go home. That stupid kid made me pretty angry and having to deal with drunken fools is just going to mean more bodies for me to clean up. Also,” Satsuki reached into his pants pockets and pulled out a few, folded up documents, "here's my report on the last few weeks at the HA. I'm still trying to look up more information on Otoya, but it will take a bit more time.

Ren gave the documents a quick glance and nodded. “Thank you, Satsuki. And I understand. Do whatever you need to calm down. You’ve earned it. Ringo, you think you can handle it alone?”

“I’ve never had a problem handling people, whether they are a man or woman. This is no different.”

“Good. Then Tokiya and I will head back to Shinjuku. May the goddess of luck continue to smile on us all” Ren smiled slightly and headed back to the silver SUV with Tokiya by his side. Tokiya opened Ren’s door and closed it once Ren was in his seat, before climbing into the driver’s seat and driving the car out of the warehouse area. He took one last look into the rearview mirror to see Satsuki dragging two garbage bags out of the warehouse, followed by Ringo already kicking out a few guys from the warehouse. Once the warehouse was out of sight, Tokiya focused on the road and said, “Ren. If you don’t mind me asking, what is it that you need to ask Hyuga-san? I would be more than willing to help if I can.”

Ren chuckled a bit before letting out a tired sigh. “It’s hard to explain, Ichi. Let’s just say…I’m having communication problems.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what did you guys think? I hope you enjoyed it. This is definitely longer than the other chapters I have written so I hope that you liked it. The next chapter is gonna focus on Ren and Masato and hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, a new major character will be introduced. Not gonna say who yet, but I do have plans for this character in the long run. Anyway, as always, please let me know what you thought about this chapter? If you liked it, feel free to tell me in the comments below. If you didn't, comment anyway as I do want to try and improve my writing as much as I can. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you guys again next time!


	10. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren, frustrated with how Masato keeps avoiding him, decides to take it upon himself to get the blue-haired male to go on a small date with him so that he can gain more of his trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I apologize for how long it has taken to get this chapter out. Grad school is kicking my butt and my job has been keeping me pretty busy. I was actually hoping to release this back in October, but during editing I realized that I really didn't like how I wrote Ren for the chapter so I ended up basically getting rid of most of it and having to start over again. I didn't want to give you guys something that I didn't even like and so I worked hard to finally finish it, and I'm happy to say that this current version is 120% better than my old version. As well, I do include a new character in this chapter and she is going to be pretty important character from here on, although she might not be in the story as much as some other characters. And this chapter mainly focuses on Ren and Masato's relationship, although you probably got that from the chapter summary. That aside, hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Wednesday, August 30, 2017, 8:12 am

Within Shinjuku’s more dangerous neighborhoods, there was a two-story, grey building that was well hidden by other larger, run-down buildings that surrounded it. What separated it from the other condemned buildings in the area was that it had no broken windows, trash was not strewn about in or around the property and the building had no graffiti on it besides a large orange diamond with a lightning bolt down the middle of it that was on the side of the building. Inside was the same, as the bottom floor was filled with pool tables, fridges filled with different kinds of beer, poker tables, 30-inch TVs, and sofas and beds located in more secluded, sound-proofed areas in the small building. The second floor was different from the floor below and looked more like a conference room. It had file cabinets along the sides, a wall safe in the back, and different-sized sofas and chairs that were pushed to form an open rectangle around a long, coffee table. At the open end of the rectangle was a metal desk along with a black, reclining office chair, which was currently holding a certain orange-haired, handsome gang boss who was talking to a seemingly normal, slightly irate bartender.

The bartender let out a loud sigh. “You have got to be kidding me, Jinguji. You called me here for this.”

Ren propped his feet up on the desk. “I wouldn’t have called you here as a joke, Hyuga.”

Not hiding the irritation in his voice, Hyuga said, “So let me get this straight? You made Ringo force me to meet you at the SR main base in Shinjuku this early in the morning to talk about…relationship advice?”

“I wouldn’t really call it “relationship” advice. I just don’t get what I’ve been doing wrong.”

Hyuga sighed. “I don’t see why you couldn’t just ask Ringo about this?”

Ren replied with, “Hell no. Like I would go tell the master of gossip and rumors that I’m having a hard time communicating with my future bitch.”

“And you are sure about this?”

In an exasperated tone, Ren said, “Hyuga, we haven’t met, much less talked, in 2 weeks. 2 fucking weeks! Besides a few texts, I barely have had any contact with him. Not to mention that whenever I try to call him, I just get a voicemail and a text afterwards saying that he’s busy. God damn, I already know he feels something for me, but I can’t get any closer to him if he keeps pushing me away.”

Hyuga scratched the back of his head. Getting the feeling that this meeting was going to be longer than expected, he took a seat in the red lounge chair that was nearby. “Look, Ren. I’ve been out of the SR business since Saotome died, but from what I can tell, the HA boss is one major workaholic. He’s not like your past conquests that fell for your charm and looks after one meeting.”

Ren couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“Then you should also know that he may also be keeping his distance since he doesn’t understand the feelings he has for you yet. I felt the same way when I first met Ringo, especially since we met when I was still Saotome’s lieutenant, but after I got to know him more I realized I would be stupid for letting him get away. Although I can’t forget the lengths Ringo went to convince me how compatible we were.”

Ren’s eyebrows rose slightly. “What are you trying to say Hyuga?”

“I’m saying that you need to be more assertive if you want the HA boss to fall for you. Do you even know anything about him?”

“Sure I know plenty about him. He’s a cocky, naïve, goody-two-shoed, blue-haired pr-”

“I meant did you actually KNOW anything about him. Like what his favorite places are, his family members, how he likes to relax. That kind of stuff is what is going to help you get him into your bed.”

“Well, we did discuss a few things when we first met, but most of it was pretty insignificant anyway. Just idle chitchat.”

“Well, you gotta play with the cards you are dealt. What do you recall?”

“He talked about some novels he liked, his favorite movies, and some restaurants he was interested in-”

It was at that last option that an idea popped into Hyuga’s head. “What sort of restaurants did he suggest?”

“A couple middle-class diners and a few cafes near his office.”

“In that case, I think this works out better than you could have hoped for. So here’s is your best bet…”

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Masato was walking towards the Hijirikawa Agency, feeling the slight morning breeze hit his face. While it was colder than a usual August day, that particular morning he woke up with a headache, which caused him to feel a bit under-the-weather. As such, he wore a simple blue sweater along with a comfortable pair of tan pants to keep his body warm. In his right hand, he had his worn-out suitcase that was filled with documents, files and a small, travel umbrella. Looking at the sky, he saw that the sun was desperately trying to peek through the white clouds.

He rubbed his eyes to try and wipe the tiredness out of them. He had tried a new medicine to see if it could cure him of his illness, but it caused him to oversleep and now he was running a bit behind schedule. He had called earlier to let everyone know that he was heading to the agency, to which Syo told him to not rush as there wasn’t much going on and they were still nowhere near a solid lead on the SR or QK gang cases. Even with this news, Masato still rushed to try and make it to the office by 9:30. Unfortunately, in his rush, he had forgotten to make any coffee or tea to take to work, which only made his sleepiness show even more. While he wanted to blame this on the medicine, he knew that this tiredness was not truly caused by the medicine though. His desire to get as many clues as he could in finding out the identity of the either of the gang leaders had been making him think less and less about his health. But he did not know how much longer he could keep up with this kind of work mentality. 

Masato sighed as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. ‘I can only imagine what Suwabe-san would say if he saw me right now.’

“Masato-san!”

‘Yeah he probably would yell at me like that.’

“Masato-san!”

‘Wow, I can’t believe how realistic he sounds in my head.’

“Earth to Masato Hijirikawa!”

At that statement, Masato opened his eyes and looked straight ahead, stunned at the sight before him. Ren was standing a few feet from him, with a big smile on his face and in expensive black suit with a red tie. He rubbed his eyes to make sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him, but when he opened them again not only was Ren still there, but he was now standing much closer and had his hand on Masato’s forehead.

Ren’s couldn’t help but frown as he pulled his hand away. “I can tell you haven’t been taking care of yourself again, Masato-san. Mind telling me why?”

Masato blushed before taking step back to collect himself. “Ah, hello Suwabe-san? Lovely day, isn’t it?”

“Don’t try to change to subject, Hijirikawa. I feel that I care more about your health than you do. I mean, just look at yourself.” Ren proceeded to move his thumbs under Masato’s eyes. “You have bags under your eyes, your complexion looks paler than the last time I saw you and you’re dressed like it was 50 degrees outside despite the fact it was at least 70 degrees the last time I checked.”

“Oh, is it really that warm? It was so much colder at my apartment-”

“You mean the apartment that is only a few blocks from here. You do remember that you told me where you lived when we first met, right?”

Masato tried to think of another excuse, but soon realized that nothing he could come up with would fool Ren. He sighed in defeat. “I’m sorry, Suwabe-san. I’ve just been stressing lately with all the work the agency has been having that I just haven’t had the time to think about my health. Speaking of which, I really need to get to work.”

He then tried to step around Ren to get to the agency, but Ren blocked his path once again. In a disappointed tone, Ren said, “I don’t accept your apology, Masato. I come to see how you are doing since you have been too busy to even accept a phone call, and I find out that you have been taking even worse care of yourself than the last time I saw you. If you want to properly apologize to me then I know of only one way.”

As much as the blue-haired man wanted to protest, he had to admit that he had been pushing Ren away recently, due to both work and his own confusing feelings. With a sigh of defeat, Masato said, “And what would that be, Suwabe-san? I’ll do almost anything since I have been rather rude to you lately.”

In an instant, Ren’s eyes seemed to light eye in glee. With a big smile, Ren asked, “How about we try this café that’s nearby, then? I think it was one of the ones you mentioned you wanted to check out.”

Masato felt like he had been played, but decided not to say anything and simply nodded. “Alright, that’s fine. Did you want to meet later this afternoon?”

“No. I was thinking we could go over there right now.”

“I’m sorry, Suwabe-san, but I can’t. I have to-”

Ren then placed his finger against Masato’s lips to silence him. “What you need is to relax. It’s because of your workaholic tendencies that you look and feel the way you do right now. Whatever work you have right now is not going to get up and walk away with you out of the office for another hour or two. Besides that, I did say that this was the ONLY way I would accept your apology. So,” Ren stretched out his left hand towards Masato, “are you coming?”

Masato look back and forth between Ren’s hand and face. While a part of him was saying that he needed to focus on taking down the SR and QW gangs, another part also agreed with what Ren was saying and reasoned that he would be able to concentrate better at work if he took a small break to just collect his thoughts. With that in mind, he slowly reached out and placed his left hand gently on Ren’s extended hand.

Ren smiled before saying, “Well then, let’s go Masato-san. And don’t forget. It’s Ren.” Ren gently gripped Masato’s hand as they began their walk towards the café. 

Masato felt embarrassed by the thought of people of seeing them hold hands, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of Ren’s hand. They felt so smooth and warm, with only a few calluses along his palm. The feeling of Ren’s hand spread through Masato’s entire body, bringing him an indescribable sense of comfort and causing a blush to appear on his face, although he did his best to hide it. In just a few minutes, they arrived at the café, also known as Café Serene, and Ren held the door open so Masato could go in first. 

When both of them entered the café, they noticed that the establishment definitely lived up to its name: various plants, including blue and white tulips, were placed around the café; a light smell of vanilla was in the air; the lighting was bright enough to where everything could be seen yet it was not harsh on the eyes and relaxing piano and flute music played through the speakers of the café. The building also seemed to have two different seating arrangements, which was either a simple, square table that could seat up to 4 people or a booth that could easily hold 8 people.

Masato felt Ren’s hand on his back, guiding him to take a seat in one of the empty two-seat tables available. Masato complied and took his seat while Ren grabbed two menus. Ren then handed one of the menu’s to Masato before taking his seat. For a few minutes, neither of the men said anything, focusing on the food options on the menu while also taking quick glances at each other every once in a while. However, the silence was broken as a male employee came to their table.

“Hello, sirs. My name is Momotaru and I will be your server today. Can I ask what you gentlemen would like to drink?”

Masato began to say, “I think I will just have a wa-”, but was interrupted by Ren’s baritone voice.

“He will take some chamomile tea with a side of lemon and I will have black coffee.”

Masato was slightly taken aback by Ren’s interruption, but it didn’t deter their waiter as he wrote down the orders before heading back into the kitchen. Regaining his composure, Masato said, “Ren-san, why did you do that? I am more than capable of ordering for myself.”

“I’m sure you are Masato, but I also know you haven’t been taking care of yourself at all lately. As such, I have made it my duty to make sure your health doesn’t get any worse. For example, you were planning to just order water since it is free, right?”

Masato wanted to refute Ren’s claim, but knew fully well that it was true. All he could do was give a small nod to confirm Ren’s suspicions. 

“As I thought. You are more worried about spending money than your own health. Which is exactly why I ordered chamomile tea. First, it is very good for helping people who are sick. And secondly, since I’m paying for everything, there is no need for you to worry about money.”

Alarmed by Ren’s last statement, Masato said, “Ren-san, I can’t ask you to pay for my meal!”

“You didn’t ask Masato, I’m offering. And you will accept that fact or I will not accept your apology.”

Realizing that he was not going to win the battle, Masato relented and just continued to look at the menu. “In that case, can I order some chicken soup with a side of salad?” 

Ren nodded. “I see nothing wrong with that. It is both healthy and should also help make you feel better. Just don’t hold back on my account. Eat as much as you need.” 

“No, I think that should be fine. Do you know what you will get?”

Ren took another glance at the menu and said, “I will probably end up getting some French toast. I haven’t had some in quite a while.”

Before they could continue their conversation, Momotaru returned with their drinks in hand. After giving Masato and Ren their correct drinks, he asked, “And did you guys figure out what you would like to eat?”

Both men nodded and gave their orders to Momotaru, who quickly wrote them down, took their menus and handed them dessert menus. He then bowed to both men and told them that their orders will be out shortly. 

Once Momotaru left, Masato began to sip on his chamomile tea, which was already bringing a sense of relief to his entire body. Even the slight touch a lemon that was added to the tea not only enhanced the flavor, but also was rather soothing to his throat and mind. Setting his already half empty cup down, Masato said, “Ren-san, thank you for pushing me to come here. I’m already feeling refreshed and alive from this tea alone.”

“It’s no problem, Masato-san. I’m just glad I could help. Besides, seeing the color return to your face makes the color of your eyes even more beautiful.” 

Masato couldn’t help but blush and turned his head to the side, trying to hide his obvious embarrassment. However, he became distracted as a new group of people entered the café, and the sight of them made his eyes widen and hide desperately behind his dessert menu. He waited for the sound of the group taking their seats in a booth on the other side of the restaurant before stating, “Uh, Ren-san. Pl-Please excuse me. I’m just g-go-going to use the bathroom real fast-t.” Without waiting to hear Ren’s response, he fast-walked to the bathroom, being grateful that it was located away from the new group.

Ren was both slightly concerned and completely bewildered by Masato’s loss of composure. Knowing it must have something to do with the new group that entered the café, Ren turned in his chair to take a better look at the new people. From what he could tell, there was 4 rather large men in black suits and 1 young, and quite beautiful girl. As well, while Ren couldn’t see her face, Ren could tell the girl must be someone important, as the men seemed to be guarding her as if she was a national treasure and she herself had an aura of sophistication surrounding her. Ren knew that trying to even approach the girl might get him into some unnecessary trouble, however it was these same people that were affecting his plan to gain Masato’s trust. Seeing as Masato was not going to be coming out of the bathroom anytime soon, Ren stood from his seat and proceeded to walk towards the group.

As Ren approached, the men seemed to already realize Ren’s intention and two of the men stood up to stop him. As Ren was about to reach the table, the men blocked his path and said, “Sir, I’ll have to ask you to state your purpose.”

“My purpose? Well, since you asked so nicely, I would have to say it is to talk to the young miss behind you.”

This statement seemed to anger the men and they said, “And what business do you have with our young lady?”

‘Ah…so she’s an heir. Now everything makes sense’ thought Ren. “Well, I don’t have any business with her per say. But I believe she knows a…friend of mine. A man by the name of Masato Hijirikawa.”

“Nii-chan?” The bodyguards were pushed away slightly to reveal the heiress, who had long blue hair, purple eyes and was dressed in a navy-colored business attire, with a long sleeve jacket covering her white, button-up shirt and a matching skirt that reached her knees. “You know my Nii-chan?”

Ren was shocked by the revelation that the girl was Masato’s sister, but held his composure and addressed the girl. “Indeed I do. Although I must say, he never mentioned having such a cute, little sister.”

Ren couldn’t help but notice how similar Masato and the girl were, as she blushed in the same manner as Masato did. She shook her head and said, “Thank you for the compliment. Please sit down and tell me how he’s doing. I haven’t seen him in so long.”

Ren watched as the bodyguards begrudgingly moved aside to let Ren take a seat across from their young lady. Ren smoothly slid into the booth seat and said, “Masato-san is fine. He has a bad habit of being a workaholic, but I’ve been helping to look out for his health.”

The young woman let out a sigh of relief and said, “Thank God he’s doing good. I was so worried after father kicked him out of the house. I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye or give him anything.” She was obviously holding back tears as she collected herself and said, “I apologize for my manners. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Mai Hijirikawa.”

“Ren Suwabe. It is an honor to meet you, Hijirikawa-san.”

“Don’t worry about formalities. Any friend of Nii-chan’s is a friend of mine. Please call me Mai.”

Ren flashed his usual smile and said, “Alright then, Mai-chan. May I ask why you haven’t seen your brother in so long? Surely you could have visited him at his office.”

Mai couldn’t help the sad smile that appeared on her face. “Unfortunately, it’s just not possible. Father forbids me from seeing him, which is why he always has bodyguards following me whenever I leave the main house. He even made Nii-chan change his contact information so that I couldn’t have any contact with him. I’m still heartbroken at being separated from him.”

Ren couldn’t help the slight smirk that appeared on his face, although he quickly replaced it with a kind smile. “Well, what if I told you could see him again? Especially since he is here right now.”

Mai’s eyes seemed to regain their spark at this statement and she replied, “You mean he’s really here?! You are not lying to me, are you Suwabe-san?” She began to frantically look around the restaurant, hoping to find anything resembling her older brother.

Ren shook his head. “I could never lie to you, Mai-chan. He is indeed here and I bet you could see and talk to him, but your stooges here will need to stay here so he doesn’t get scared off.” Ren could see that he was ticking off the bodyguards, but he could care less. This girl could be his ticket to gaining Masato’s trust once and for all. 

Mai played right into Ren’s plan and said, “Yes, of course! Please I want to see him!” 

One of the bodyguards tried to intervene by saying, “Miss, it would not be wise to go against your father’s orders.”

Mai looked at him sternly. “Ayagi, you know how long I have waited to see my Nii-chan again. And don’t even try to tell me that you and the others aren’t at least interested in seeing that he is doing fine.” Mai looked at the men and saw that none made a move to argue against her. She then pushed past them before turning back and saying, “This is an order. You are to stay here until my business with Nii-chan is over. And you will not speak of this to Father. If you try to stop me, I will NEVER forgive you. Am I understood?” The bodyguards had no choice but to nod. With her bodyguards taken care of, Mai turned to Ren and said, “Well, what are you waiting for Suwabe-san? Show me where I can find my Nii-chan!”

Ren was surprised by the authority the girl had and could see how she would be a force to be reckoned with when she did inherit her family’s business. He stood up from the booth and guided Mai to his and Masato’s table and pulled out one of the empty chairs for her to sit in. He then moved to his own seat and said, “Now let’s just wait for him to come back from the restroom. He seemed a little jumpy earlier so don’t be alarmed if he is the same when he gets back.”

As if on cue, Masato decided then to finally exit the bathroom. He had splashed water on his face and taken many deep breaths to try and calm himself after seeing his little sister. Just the sight of her after not being able to even speak to her for over 3 years, not to mention seeing how she had become such a beautiful, confident woman, made Masato’s heart swell with pride. But he knew even the small glimpse that he got of her would only bring her further hardship if she knew he was here. Masato thought, ‘I just need to stay out of her sight until I’m out of the café. Maybe I can convince Ren-san to take our meals to go?’ He was so deep in thought that he hadn’t noticed the new occupant at his table until he was about 10 feet away. He froze at the sight of her and soon both their eyes connected.

Before he could even think of running away, Mai jumped out of her seat and tackle-hugged Masato, causing him to take a step back from the force. She joyfully yelled, “Nii-chan!”, as she tightly hugged her brother.

Masato didn’t know what to do and, as much as he knew that he should push her away, he didn’t have the heart to do that when his little sister looked so happy. He towards Ren, who only gave him a look that said ‘Hug her you idiot’. He gently wrapped his arms around her and patted her on the head comfortingly. After she calmed down, Masato finally spoke. “Mai, it’s good to see you.”

“C’mon, Masa-nii. Is that really the only thing you have to say to me? It’s been almost 4 years since… well you know…and I’ve just…I…I’ve really missed you. You didn’t even say bye to me before you left.” Mai couldn’t help, but let a few tears slip out.

Masato moved his hand to wipe away her tears and tilt her face towards him. “I’m sorry, Mai. You must believe that I wanted to say farewell to you, but Father gave me rules when I decided to follow my own path. Not only was I to leave the Hijirikawa estate and give up my chance of inheriting the family title and fortune, I was also told that I was to have no contact with you. He said that I would only serve as a distraction to the new heir of the Hijirikawa business.” Masato could see that more tears were beginning to form in Mai’s eyes so he brought her head into his chest as he hugged her. “I begged him to let me at least wait until you had returned from school, but he told me that he expected me to have me things packed and out of the house in an hour and that I should be off the premise by that time as well. He also told me that if I ever tried to make any kind of contact with me, he would send you overseas where I would never be able to see you again. So I followed his orders, if only so that you would not face any hardships due to my selfishness.”

Mai sniffled a little and lifted her head enough so that she could see Masato’s face. “Just tell me one thing, Nii-chan. Do you regret following your own path?”

Masato couldn't help the sad smile that appeared on his face. “I would be lying if I said I did. I love being a detective and helping people in any way I can. My only regret is having to leave you behind and forcing you to have inherit the family business.”

Mai smiled softly at her brother. “Don’t say that Nii-chan. I’ve been able to learn so much since Father made me his heir. And I think I’m excited for the day that Father lets me take over the company. And its all thanks to you, Masa-nii. You following your dream has allowed me to realize my own. I couldn’t have asked for a better Nii-chan.”

With Mai’s words, Masato couldn’t help but give Mai a proud smile. They continued to hug for a few more minutes before finally remembering where they were. They turned sheepishly back to Ren only to see him watching them as he sipped his coffee with both a plate of French toast and a bowl of soup and salad sat on the table. Not to far away, both Momotaru and Mai’s bodyguards could be seen wiping a few tears away. They both blushed from embarrassment and proceeded to sit back down in their respective chairs. 

Ren couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the pair’s embarrasment. “As much as I enjoyed your family reunion, I think Masato needs to eat so he can get back to work. Would you like me to order something for you as well, Mai-chan?” 

“That’s unnecessary, Suwabe-san. I’ll order something myself. I hope you two don’t mind me eating here with you.”

“Of course not. Go ahead and catch up with your brother. In fact,” Ren pushed his plate of French toast towards Mai, “how about you eat this for me. I’m not very hungry and it would save me the trouble of getting a to-go box. Besides, I need to be getting to work myself as well.”

Mai and Masato gave Ren a unsure look. “Are you sure, Suwabe-san?” asked Mai.

Flashing his signature smile and giving her a wink, Ren said, “Of course. Don’t worry about it. I’ll even go pay for all the food and everything right now. You two just enjoy being able to see each other again.”

It looked like Mai was about to argue that she could at least pay for the meal, but Masato grabbed her hand to stop her, knowing it was useless to try and change Ren’s mind. “Thank you, Ren-san.” Ren nodded before standing up from his chair and walked over to the register. He proceeded to pay for all their food and drinks before grabbing the receipt from the cashier. Stuffing the piece of paper into his pocket, he began to move to the front door when he felt a tug on his suit jacket. Ren turned to find the source to be Masato. 

“Ren-san, I do want to repay you. Once again, I feel like you saved my life. Please…tell me if there’s anything I can do for you.”

Ren smiled kindly down at Masato and said, “Well there’s one thing I can think of. But we probably will need some privacy.” He then turned his attention to Mai and said, “Do you mind if I borrow your brother for a few minutes, Mai-chan?” Mai gave him a perplexed look but nodded her head and smiled as she watched Ren lead her just as confused brother out of the restaurant. Ren began to take Masato towards the alleyway that was next to the restaurant. 

Masato became slightly distraught as memories of the last time he was brought into an alleyway began to flash through his mind. He began to pull back from the alleyway’s entrance until he felt Ren squeeze his hand. He looked up and saw Ren giving him a look that said, ‘Trust me’. After taking some deep breaths, he nodded his head towards Ren and allowed himself to be pulled into the mouth of the alleyway, where Ren stopped when it was clear that anyone passing by would not see them unless they were looking someone.

Ren then gently pushed Masato against the brick wall and brought their foreheads together, making sure that Masato’s full attention was on him. In a soft, husky voice, Ren said, “For now, the only thing I want is to kiss you. Will you allow me to do that, Masato?”

Masato couldn’t help the blush that spread across his face. While he was hesitant, he did want to repay Ren and it wasn’t like Ren was asking for anything extreme. As well, Masato had to admit that Ren sounded unbelievably sexy when he had asked him that question. He gave a small nod while adverting his gaze, but Ren then tilted his chin back and up.

“I want to hear it from you, Masato,” said Ren as he brought his face close enough to where his breath was tickling Masato’s mouth. “Tell me that I can kiss you.”

Masato nervously licked his lips, but still found the confidence to softly say, “I give you per-permission to k…kiss me, Ren. But don't com-complain to me if you get sick.”

Masato saw the happiness in Ren’s eyes and watched as Ren close the gap between their lips. His eyes fluttered shut as he felt Ren’s rose petal-like lips initiate a gentle kiss. However, Masato soon felt Ren’s tongue brush against his lips, causing him to gasp. Masato couldn’t help but moan as Ren tongue entered his mouth and explored every crevice, even engaging Masato’s tongue into a strange, but sensual dance. Masato knew his movements were much clumsier than the obviously more experienced Ren (which also kind of upset him, but he wasn’t going to bring that up for the moment), but he felt Ren must be enjoying it as their tongues were still engrossed in an intense make-out session. Finally, the need for air arose and the two males separated, both completely out of breath while Masato’s face was deep red. Masato slowly opened his eyes and looked up to Ren, who was still looking at him with an intense gaze. Ren began to lean down causing Masato to think he was about to start another kiss and so he shut his eyes in anticipation.

However, Ren’s mouth went towards Masato’s ear rather than his lips. He then whispered, “You should probably get going. Don’t keep Mai-chan waiting on you.”

Masato could feel as the blush on his face began to grow down his neck and over his ears, especially the one Ren had whispered in. Flustered and embarrassed, Masato pushed Ren away and began to walk out of the alley. He stopped momentarily to turn back and say, “Thank you, Ren. I’ll make sure to message you later about another time we can meet. I hope you have a good day at work.” He then briskly walked towards the busy sidewalk and around the corner to get back into the café, hoping that Mai wouldn’t question why his face was so red. 

Ren waited a minute until he was sure Masato had gone back inside Café Serene. He couldn’t help the smirk that began to take shape on his face as he thought, ‘You have no idea how good my work day has been.’ 

He then pulled out his phone and dialed Tokiya’s number. “Ichi, I’ve taken care of my business. Can you come pick me up ?....Of course he doesn’t suspect a thing. Plus, Lady Luck seems to really want me to win this bet. I’m sure he’ll fall just like all my other past targets. You should have seen has face when I kissed him! He acted like some virgin schoolboy!....Oh don’t be like that Ichi! I’m sure you want all the details. Just come by the opposite side of the alleyway near that new café… yeah the one on Shikidou street. Thanks!” Hanging up his phone, Ren proceeded further into the darkness of the alley, confident that everything was going according to his plan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another chapter completed! I promise it won't take as long to get the next chapter out (I've already made quite a bit of progress on it and it looks pretty good to me right now). I don't want to reveal too much about it, but it will mostly be focusing on Camus as well as everyone's favorite bishie robot, Ai Mikaze! And after their chapter, we will finally be finished with August!! Anyway, enough minor spoilers, how did you guys enjoy the chapter? How did you like the introduction of Mai? Do you think Masato's face will become permanently red from all the blushing? Let me know in the comments as well as any questions you may have (except for anything that may lead to spoiling the plot). As well, if you have any tips on how to improve my writing, those would also be greatly appreciated! I have seen all the kudos and read all the comments that have come in while I still trying to finish writing this chapter and I can't thank you guys enough for all the support! So once again, thanks so much for reading and hope to see you guys again soon!


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